More details of Mr Leung's sudden departure, processed in a single day early in July, will be revealed tomorrow when Mr Lam appears again at the Legislative Council select committee inquiry into the matter.

The fifth session of the inquiry is scheduled to begin at 8.30 am.

'Mr Lam said he would submit more information on Mr Leung's case other than the statement given last Friday. Therefore we decided to hold another meeting on it,' said select committee chairman Ip Kwok-him.

Mr Ip said that a January 23 hearing would be held as scheduled.

Who will be summoned depends on the outcome of the hearing tomorrow.

Mr Ip did not rule out the possibility of summoning Mr Patten, Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang, ICAC representatives and Mr Leung.

Top-level anti-graft sources hit back at accusations they may have been part of a campaign to blacken Mr Leung's name.

The sources claimed a general circular sent to more than 300 banks asking for Mr Leung's financial details was 'not uncommon'.

Under existing procedures - with the consent of one of the commission's monitoring bodies, the Operations Review Committee which is chaired by Executive Councillor Jimmy McGregor - the ICAC forwards reports on investigations into civil servants to their bosses as a matter of course.

Mr McGregor said: 'The legal advice was that there was no basis for the investigation going any further and we agreed.

'Wherever a government servant is involved it is inevitable that his or her superiors are informed.' Asked if the report contained recommendations that disciplinary action be taken against Mr Leung under Colonial Regulations, Mr McGregor said: 'I cannot tell you.' A senior government official, who did not want to be named, said the case was very complicated and 'is related to his discharging of his duty'.

He said that a specific factor, such as a civil servant not declaring all his assets, would not necessarily cause the Government to lose so much confidence in him that he should be removed.