S.African finmin says will not meet police, assets slump

By Mfuneko Toyana JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African assets slumped further on Wednesday after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said he would not appear before police who had issued him with a summons over an investigation into a suspected rogue spy unit in the tax service. The police had asked Gordhan and other former officials at the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to report to meet an officer of the elite unit Hawks on Thursday morning in relation to contravention of surveillance regulations, a source close to the matter told Reuters. [nL8N1B440I] The rand extended its losses, falling 1.5 percent to 14.21 against the dollar, extending its losses to almost five percent since the news about Gordhan emerged late on Tuesday, as the market speculated that there was a plot to remove him. Gordhan's lawyers said in a statement on Wednesday that the finance minister would not present himself to the police on Thursday as he had nothing further to say about the matter. Gordhan said that an investigative unit set-up while he was head of the tax authority was lawful, two days after police summoned him over concerns that it breached surveillance regulations. "Minister Gordhan is unable to meet with Brigadier Xaba at 1400 on Thursday 25 August 2016," his lawyers, Gildenhuys Malatji Inc, said. "If you require further information, however, you are welcome to approach us again because the Minister has instructed us to assist wherever we can," the lawyers said. Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said it would not comment on Gordhan's response. Gordhan was due to speak at a debate in Cape Town at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT). News of Gordhan's summonses added to investors' worries about a leadership tug-of-war at the finance ministry as Africa's most industrialised country teeters on the edge of recession and credit rating agencies consider downgrading it to "junk" status by year-end. (Additional reporting by Joe Brock; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Richard Balmforth)