Senior former Land Bank executives and a former Gauteng politician will be arrested this month on charges of corruption, MPs have been told.

The revelation comes two years after auditors hinted at massive corruption at the bank, which is responsible for helping emerging farmers.

Land Bank chief executive Phakamani Hadebe told MPs this week that all information about alleged irregularities had been handed to the police.

He was briefing MPs on the progress of the criminal investigation of the misappropriation of funds at the institution after they demanded to know whether politicians had benefited from the "looting", estimated at R2 billion.

Hadebe declined to reveal names on Saturday, but The Sunday Independent understands that a top Gauteng politician and several former bank executives would face charges.

The Hawks and the police declined to confirm the pending arrests yesterday, saying their investigation of fraud, corruption, forgery and other wrongdoing at the Land Bank was at a sensitive stage.

Hadebe told The Sunday Independent that four forensic reports had been handed to the authorities. Among these was a report on the Land for Development Finance Unit, where an estimated R560 million was spent on golf estates and residential property developments.

The bank also spent about R140m on an IT upgrade system, against advice about the costs involved.

"These forensics are with the authorities and we are assisting them. The Land Bank has a responsibility to clear and clean its name. We have to convince our clients and investors that we are doing the best to (clean up)," he said.

At this week's hearing, ANC MP Salam Abram said the onus was on Hadebe and his executives to lay bare the extent of the corruption.

"The Land Bank is seen as a place where one can get in and start looting. We need to know what is happening (How far are) the investigations? Here are millions being looted. Is there any politician who was given a grant out of those BEE (black economic empowerment) funds?" he asked.

Another fund under police scrutiny, said Hadebe, was the Mafisa fund, where established farmers were meant to mentor emerging black farmers.

"There was collusion, especially in Limpopo, between farmers and people at the Land Bank, where farmers would just get workers to unwittingly sign documents stating that they own farms," he said.

Among other transactions Hadebe has confirmed were being probed by the police were three amounts totalling R4.08m and two amounts totalling R9m, transferred via the Land Bank to BEE companies in 2007.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan approved R3.5bn for the recapitalisation of the Land Bank this week, with certain conditions. These included the provision of quarterly reports to the National Treasury on the turnaround strategy and loan recoveries, and performance updates on the bank's development indicators.

The guarantee meant that the government undertook to meet the obligations of the bank should its liabilities exceed its assets. Land Bank spokesman Musa Mchunu said the government bailout would proportionally decrease as cash injections were made by the state to the bank.