News24Wire reports that Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments on Thursday slammed media reports about an approach to buy UBank as "speculation", with "several significant untruths and misunderstandings".  

CEO Nazeem Howa said the company did express an early interest in UBank a couple of years ago, but voluntarily walked away at an early stage.  He was responding to an article carried by Independent Media (IOL) that suggested the Guptas' need for a bank gained momentum after SA’s four biggest banks closed their accounts.  Yet, Howa confirmed that he made an informal phone call to NUM general secretary David Sipunzi recently.  Sipunzi told IOL that “we have been approached unofficially about selling UBank to Oakbay.”  The Chamber of Mines, which is another trustee of Teba Trust which owns UBank, said Oakbay had not approached it about UBank.  On the issue of Oakbay donating R1m to the NUM to cover costs of its June central committee meeting, NUM said there was no controversy in Oakbay having done that.

• Read this report in full at Mining Weekly

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