Defenders of former president Jacob Zuma, and suspected tobacco smugglers have for years been trying to show that the "Rogue Unit" was an illegal entity, spying on suspected tax fraudsters.

The EFF's letter comes after party leader Julius Malema last month blamed Gordhan for the collapse of VBS Mutual Bank.

Some of the worst-performing municipalities in Limpopo and the North West had deposited R1,5 billion into the bank which, an investigation by the SA Reserve Bank found had been used as a piggybank by the bank's owners with payoffs to politicians and their acolytes.

One of these was the younger brother of Shivambu, Brian, who allegedly received R16 million from the bank.

Political Bureau