Fresh controversy has rocked the Chelsea bidding process after ministers were asked to bar the shortlisted offer made by Bain Capital co-chairman Stephen Pagliuca. 

The Blues look set to be sold for close to £3billion by the end of April, with a shortlist of preferred bidders established last month. The winner is set to be presented to government in a couple of weeks' time, with those still involved able to up their offer until a deadline of April 11. 

Most of those bids that have been shortlisted are known, with the Ricketts family and a consortium led by Sir Martin Broughton also in the running. 

Stephen Pagliuca is spearheading one of four shortlisted bids to buy Chelsea 

Both of those bids have been hit by controversy, with fans already protesting about the Ricketts family's involvement.

Sir Martin Broughton's bid has also been criticised by Burma Campaign UK for his involvement with British American Tobacco and their relationship with the Burmese military.

And Sportsmail revealed on Thursday that LA Dodgers owner Todd Boehly, another leading candidate, still has a £120million stake in a betting company that is still operating in Russia. 

Now the bid led by Pagliuca is also under the spotlight, after Lord Peter Hain used parliamentary privilege to discuss Bain Capital's indictment in South Africa. 

Speaking in the House of Lords, as reported by the Telegraph, Lord Hain said: 'As a Chelsea fan for 57 years, will the Government ensure that no winning bid loads debt on the club like the Glazers did to Manchester United?

'Will ministers also bar the Pagliuca Consortium bid headed by the chair of Bain Capital which remains highly entwined with Bain & Company, recently indicted by a South African Judicial Commission for acting 'unlawfully' and referred for prosecution.

'Bain cynically and ruthlessly disabled the country's tax collecting agency by conspiring with the corrupt former president Zuma for an £8million fee. Chelsea and the Premier League must not be contaminated with such despicably corrupt business practice.'

the government replied, with Conservative Lords whip Baroness Penn stating: 'The Government does not want to pre-judge any decision Chelsea may make as it is a decision for them to ensure the best owners for the club are found.'

A spokesperson for Bain Capital told the Telegraph: 'Bain Capital spun out from Bain & Company in 1984. Since then, the two firms have operated completely independently of one another. We have been entirely separate and independent entities for almost 40 years, with fundamentally different businesses.'