Johannesburg - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has been ordered to report to the "Hawks" by Thursday over allegations relating to a rogue tax unit, the Daily Maverick online news service reported on Tuesday.
The rand fell nearly 3% after the story was published and was 2% weaker by 16:29 GMT
The elite Hawks police division is investigating a tax surveillance unit within the South African Revenue Service (Sars) set up in 2007 when Gordhan was the commissioner of the revenue authority.
Gordhan seeking legal advice over Hawks
Rand plunges on report Hawks circling GordhanThe Daily Maverick reported that it has been reliably informed that Gordhan has been asked to report to the Hawks at 10am on Thursday.
It said that former Sars deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay, group executive Johann van Loggerenberg and initial head of the investigative unit, Andries van Rensburg were also asked to report to the Hawks.
However, Hawks spokesperson, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, told Daily Maverick that he will not comment on the matter, brushing it off as speculation.
A Hawks spokesperson also told Reuters that he "knows nothing" about the report.
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