British lawmaker Peter Hain said on Wednesday he has asked finance minister Philip Hammond to refer an unidentified UK bank to regulators for an investigation into possible involvement in alleged money laundering involving South Africa's Gupta family.
Hain hand delivered documents to Hammond on Tuesday that he said showed participation of an unidentified British bank in illegal transfers of funds from South Africa made by the Gupta family over the last few years.
The Guptas, a family of Indian-born businessmen in South Africa, are under scrutiny for their close ties to South African President Jacob Zuma and have been accused of unduly influencing the awarding of state tenders. The family has denied any wrongdoing and no charges have been filed.
"(I) named the British bank concerned and asked that he (Hammond) again refer these to the Serious Fraud Office, the National Crimes Agency, and the Financial Conduct Authority for investigation", Hain said in the House of Lords, according to a video on the British parliament's website.
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Read more:
HSBC, Standard Chartered may face UK inquiry over South Africa’s Gupta family
KPMG execs in South Africa leave over Gupta
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The unidentified bank is HSBC Holdings, the Financial Times reported, citing one person who has seen a letter Hain separately sent to the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
HSBC spokeswoman Gillian James did not have an immediate comment and referred to chief executive Stuart Gulliver's remark on a post-earnings call on Monday.
"On the enquiries as a result of Lord Hain's letter to the chancellor, obviously we are responding to those enquiries that have come in from the FCA and also from South African authorities, and there is nothing more I can really add at this point in time," Gulliver said.
The FCA could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.
This is not the first time Hain, a Labour politician, has asked for a scrutiny of British lenders' ties with the Guptas.
Hain asked the finance ministry in October to look into HSBC and Standard Chartered PLC's possible ties to the Gupta family and Zuma, and the FCA said it was in contact with those lenders.
The politician also wrote to Hammond in September requesting a probe of British banks' involvement in money-laundering in South Africa.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
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Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
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Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
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Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
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ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
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There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
Dubai World Cup Carnival card:
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 | 2,410 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
SPECS
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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