The Hawks have rubbished claims that criminal charges have been opened against investigative journalist Jacques Pauw.
Media reports on Thursday claimed State Security Agency officials laid charges against Pauw, the author of controversial book "The President's Keepers", at the Lyttleton police station in Pretoria.
But Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said, "There is no case against Pauw."
"What we have is two cases referred to the Hawks by the SSA. These are possible cases that refer to the leaking of classified information. The SSA opened the cases [on Wednesday] and we only received the dockets late in the afternoon," Mulaudzi said.
He said the Hawks are investigating the leak of classified information, and not pursuing criminal investigations into Pauw.
However, News24 reported that SSA spokesman Brian Dube reportedly told eNCA that the case was opened against Pauw. Other media outlets also quoted Gauteng provincial police spokesman Colonel Lungelo Dlamini saying criminal charges had been opened against the author.