He will reportedly receive a “warning statement” which is something given to an accused person before they are formally charged.
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Former tax officials Ivan Pillay, Johann van Loggerenberg, Adrian Lackay and Andries van Rensburg have also been tagged and sent letters informing them of charges.
The rand fell to its lowest level against the dollar in three weeks after the reports on Tuesday and was 2.2 percent weaker at 13.8888 per dollar at 7:44 p.m.in Johannesburg.
Pravin Gordhan was commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) from 1999 to 2009.
The report reopened concern about a rift between President Jacob Zuma and Gordhan, said Wichard Cilliers, a trader at Treasuryone (Pty) Ltd.in Pretoria.
This month, the ruling African National Congress suffered its worst ever electoral performance since coming to power at the end of apartheid 22 years ago. “He’s now taking legal advice and therefore reserving comment at this stage”, Treasury spokeswoman Phumza Macanda said. “They see him as a credible finance minister”.
The Treasury has confirmed to Eyewitness News that the Hawks have contacted Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan but he is seeking legal advice on this latest development.
The Daily Maverick reported that Gordhan had been told to report to the Hawks regarding investigations into a rogue unit set up at the SA Revenue Service while he was its head.
Both the NPA and the Hawks said that there was no investigation into the “rogue unit”- but added that there was no obligation to discuss the matter, or comment on any evidence they may or may not have.
Zuma spooked investors in December by replacing then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene with relatively unknown lawmaker David van Rooyen.
According to senior Hawks sources, the unit has handed over a case docket to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for a decision to prosecute Gordhan and eight other former SARS officials said to have been involved in or have had knowledge of the unit’s activities.
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