The Democratic Alliance (DA) has removed MP Mark Burke from Parliament’s finance committee and the party’s finance cluster as scrutiny intensifies over a South African Reserve Bank (SARB) investigation into fintech company Kastelo.
DA Parliamentary Leader George Michalakis said the decision was taken after consultations with Burke and was intended to prevent any perception of a conflict of interest while the investigation continues.
DA changes course on Burke
The move represents a shift from the DA’s initial position of defending Burke amid mounting political pressure from opposition parties.
Michalakis said Burke would no longer serve on the finance committee or finance cluster “out of an abundance of caution” while a company in which he is a beneficiary remains the subject of a SARB inquiry.
DA MP Kingsley Wakelin will take over as the party’s finance spokesperson.
Burke had served on Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance and as an alternate member of the Standing Committees on Appropriations and Public Accounts.
What is behind the controversy?
The controversy centres on Kastelo, a fintech company co-founded by Burke and currently run by his brother, Nicholas.
The SARB is investigating the company over suspected contraventions of South Africa’s exchange-control regulations involving approximately R4 billion in offshore transfers.
According to allegations contained in a SARB affidavit, investigators suspect Kastelo’s business model involved the systematic use of clients’ individual single discretionary allowances and foreign investment allowances to move money offshore.
The Reserve Bank has alleged that Kastelo may have used third parties’ allowances for its own benefit, while also raising concerns about how clients were incentivised and whether they understood how their allowances were being used.
The allegations remain subject to investigation and have not been proven in criminal proceedings.
High Court ruling intensified pressure
The political pressure increased after the Johannesburg High Court dismissed Kastelo’s challenge to a SARB blocking order.
The court found that the Reserve Bank had established a valid and objectively reasonable suspicion to justify the blocking order while its investigation continued.
The ruling did not, however, amount to a finding that Burke personally committed wrongdoing or that the alleged exchange-control violations had been proven.
Burke has stressed this distinction and has sought to distance himself from Kastelo’s current operations.
He said he resigned from Kastelo in 2024 to pursue a political career and subsequently ceased serving as chair of the broader Kastelo group.
Burke denies personal wrongdoing
Burke has maintained that he is not personally under investigation and has previously said he had already recused himself from matters involving the SARB to avoid potential conflicts.
He has also argued that the High Court proceedings concerned whether the Reserve Bank had sufficient grounds to issue the blocking order, rather than determining whether exchange-control contraventions had ultimately been committed.
The latest DA decision nevertheless removes him from positions in which he would have been involved in financial oversight while the investigation continues.
Opposition parties had demanded action
The ANC and EFF had called for Burke to be removed from Parliament’s finance structures, arguing that his involvement created a conflict of interest while the SARB investigated a company linked to him.
The ANC also indicated that it wanted the matter referred to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests.
The controversy has placed additional pressure on the DA, which has positioned accountability and good governance as central to its political identity.
For now, the party has opted to remove Burke from the relevant finance structures while the SARB inquiry continues. No final finding has been made against Burke personally.
