The British banking groups HSBC and Standard Chartered are likely to be investigated over new claims that they may have been used to launder money stolen from the South African state.
The British Finance Ministry has referred allegations, raised by the former cabinet minister and anti-apartheid activist, Lord Hain, to the Serious Fraud Office.
Lord Hain says whistleblowers have told him that hundreds of millions of dollars have been taken out of South Africa, illegally, via Hong Kong and Dubai.
He told BBC Newsday that he is bringing the issue up in the UK's House of Lords this morning.
“I have no evidence that they [the banks] were willing conduits," he said, adding that they could be that those banks may have been inadvertent conduits.
The money was allegedly stolen by South Africa's President Jacob Zuma and a wealthy business family, the Guptas.
Both Mr Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing.
Standard Chartered said: "We are not able to comment on the details of client transactions, but can confirm that following an internal investigation accounts were closed by us in 2014." HSBC declined to comment.
