This case concerns a pure legal question: is the Minister of Finance authorised or obliged to intervene in banker-client relationships if bank accounts are closed?

The bank accounts concerned in this matter are those of the Oakbay group of companies, in which the Gupta family hold a controlling interest. The banks concerned are four major commercial banks in South Africa, Absa, FNB, Standard Bank and Nedbank. Each of the parties (including the Governor of the Reserve Bank, the Registrar of Banks, and the Financial Intelligence Centre) accepts that the legal question concerned is to be answered as proposed by the Minister of Finance.