Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan says he is unable to publicly disclose whether the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has referred information on the suspicious banking transactions undertaken by Gupta-owned companies to the police or any other entity for further investigation.

The minister said the FIC was not permitted by law to provide him with such information.

The suspicious and unusual transactions prompted SA’s four major banks to terminate their banking relationships with the Gupta-linked companies.

The Gupta brothers subsequently exerted pressure on Gordhan to intervene with the banks on their behalf. Gordhan has approached the High Court in Pretoria for a declaratory order stipulating that he has no authority to do so.

In a written reply to a question by the DA’s David Maynier as to whether the transactions in question had been referred to other entities for investigation‚ Gordhan said: “It is not possible for me to disclose this information‚ as the FIC is not able by law to provide such information to the minister of finance.”

TMG Digital/BusinessLIVE