The past several days have seen a great deal of speculation that Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan could be facing arrest. These rumours have been squashed by several authorities, stating that no arrest will take place.

Reports emerged late last week claiming that the Hawks had handed over a case docket to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for a decision to prosecute Gordhan and eight other former SARS officials who are said to have been involved in or have had knowledge of the unit’s activities.

The Presidency has denied that Gordhan faces imminent arrest, stating the story is the work of “dangerous information peddlers who wish to cause confusion and mayhem in the country.”

The Hawks has denied handing over a docket to the NPA to bring a case against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and Hawks spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi has said that they are not investigating him. The National Prosecuting Authority has also denied investigating the minister.

Meanwhile the rumours have taken a toll on the economy when the rand hit a two-month low against the dollar and government bonds weakened sharply on Monday.

This follows the dip the rand took after David van Rooyen’s short stint as finance minister. Pravin Gordhan was named the new minister of finance on 13 December 2015, replacing David van Rooyen who held the role for only four days.