Former Africa Bitcoin Corporation CEO says he will challenge 20-year debarment
Former Africa Bitcoin Corporation (ABC) chief executive Warren Wheatley has broken his silence over the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA) decision to impose a R5 million administrative penalty and debar him from the financial services industry for 20 years.
Wheatley says the regulatory action relates to three trades involving 50 Altvest shares in September 2022, which he says had a combined value of just R301.
He has rejected the FSCA’s findings and says he intends asking the Financial Services Tribunal to reconsider the decision, while seeking a suspension of the sanction pending the outcome of that process.
Wheatley gives his version
In an open letter issued after his resignation from ABC, Wheatley said the transactions happened while he was testing a stockbroker trading platform.
“At the time, I was testing a stockbroker trading platform that had historically not functioned correctly,” he said.
According to Wheatley, three trades involving a combined 50 shares were executed during the testing, with the total sale price amounting to R301.
“That was the total sale price received, and I have not since sold shares in the company,” he said.
Wheatley maintains that the events date back four years and disputes the regulator’s findings.
“On 28 August 2026, the FSCA debarred me and imposed a R5 million administrative penalty for conduct relating to orders and trades in Altvest shares in September 2022,” he said.
“I will apply to the Financial Services Tribunal to reconsider the decision of the FSCA and for the sanction to be suspended while the reconsideration is dealt with.”
What the FSCA found
The FSCA’s action is based on findings relating to trading in Altvest shares, the company that was later renamed Africa Bitcoin Corporation.
The regulator said Wheatley, his wife Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley and Altvest’s chief investment officer Akshay Karan acted in concert between 5 and 8 September 2022.
According to the FSCA, the conduct created, or was likely to create, artificial trading activity and an artificial price in Altvest shares, as well as a misleading impression of demand, supply or trading activity.
The FSCA found that Wheatley knowingly participated in a practice that created, or was likely to create, artificial trading activity and an artificial price in the shares.
Keshwar-Wheatley and Karan were also sanctioned by the regulator.
Keshwar-Wheatley received a R3 million administrative penalty, while Karan was fined R1 million. All three were debarred for 20 years.
The FSCA’s findings concern conduct dating back to September 2022, when Altvest was listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange.
Wheatley resigns from ABC
The regulatory action has also resulted in Wheatley stepping down from ABC.
He had been placed on precautionary leave following the FSCA decision before formally resigning as CEO and an employee of the company.
Technology entrepreneur Stafford Masie is serving as interim CEO while the board moves ahead with the process of appointing a permanent successor.
Wheatley said leaving a company he helped establish was difficult.
“Stepping away from the company is deeply difficult,” he said.
“I, with many others, built this company from the ground up.”
He said the company had been built during the Covid-19 pandemic with the founders’ own capital and significant personal commitment.
Wheatley stressed that his resignation was not an admission of wrongdoing.
“My resignation is voluntary and without any admission of wrongdoing, and without giving up my rights before the Financial Services Tribunal,” he said.
He added that the company needed active leadership while his legal challenge could take time.
“The company cannot wait for that process to be finalised,” Wheatley said.
ABC separates company from regulatory proceedings
ABC has said the FSCA’s findings, penalties and debarment orders do not apply to the company or its subsidiaries.
The company has also said Wheatley’s reconsideration application and related proceedings before the Financial Services Tribunal are personal to him and will continue independently of ABC.
The Financial Services Tribunal is empowered under the Financial Sector Regulation Act to reconsider decisions made by relevant financial-sector decision-makers when an aggrieved party applies for reconsideration.
From Altvest to Africa Bitcoin Corporation
The dispute comes as ABC has undergone a significant transformation.
The company, formerly known as Altvest Capital, listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange in 2022 before transferring its primary listing to the JSE’s AltX in 2024.
In 2025, it adopted the Africa Bitcoin Corporation name and later moved from AltX to the JSE Main Board in May 2026.
The JSE describes ABC as a financial services group combining a Bitcoin treasury strategy with a pan-African private credit platform supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.
Wheatley was CEO when the company made the move to the JSE Main Board, describing the transition at the time as a significant step for the business and its access to institutional capital.
His departure now leaves Masie to oversee the company while Wheatley pursues his challenge against the FSCA’s decision.
For now, the regulator’s findings remain in place, while Wheatley maintains that the transactions at the centre of the case were part of platform testing and that he did not commit the conduct alleged by the FSCA.
