South Africa orders probe into $150 billion state pension fund - treasury

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's finance minister on Wednesday ordered an independent inquiry into state pension manager the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), following corruption allegations involving high-ranking executives, the National Treasury said.

PIC, which is Africa's biggest investment fund, said this month its legal head had quit after evidence of wrongdoing emerged during a disciplinary hearing into the collapse of VBS Bank.

The VBS administrator said an in affidavit that an unnamed PIC executive had taken a 5 million rand (£288,030) bribe to facilitate a 350 million rand payment to the bank.

(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia and John Stonestreet)