The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has taken regulatory action against three senior officers of Africa Bitcoin Corporation Limited, formerly known as Altvest Limited, over transactions involving the company’s shares in 2022.
The action targets founder and former CEO Warren Wheatley, his wife Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley, who headed media and investor relations, and former chief investment officer Akshay Suresh Karan. The three have been debarred for 20 years, while financial penalties totalling R10 million have been imposed in connection with the conduct under investigation.
Africa Bitcoin Corporation is now listed on the JSE and A2X, following its transformation from Altvest into a business focused on Bitcoin treasury strategies. The company says its ordinary shares trade under the JSE code BAC and A2X code BAN.
What the FSCA found
The regulator’s findings relate to trading in Altvest shares over four days in September 2022, when the company was still listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange.
According to the FSCA, Wheatley, Keshwar-Wheatley and Karan acted together in transactions that created an artificially inflated share price and gave a false or deceptive appearance of demand, supply or trading activity in Altvest shares.
The conduct therefore goes beyond a routine disclosure or administrative breach. At the heart of the regulator’s findings is the allegation that the transactions distorted the appearance of activity in a listed security.
The FSCA has described its enforcement role as critical to maintaining confidence and integrity in South Africa’s financial sector, with the authority saying it is prepared to act against misconduct that undermines those objectives.
R10 million in penalties
The financial consequences are significant.
Wheatley and WGW Capital, a company in which he was a director and which held approximately 34% of Altvest at the time, were hit with a joint and several administrative penalty of R5 million.
Keshwar-Wheatley and Tatum Keshwar Investments were penalised R3 million. The investment company held approximately 17% of Altvest at the time.
Karan was fined a further R2 million for his involvement in the transactions.
The combined R10 million penalty is separate from the regulator’s decision to debar the three individuals for 20 years.
Twenty-year debarments
The FSCA’s action means Wheatley, Keshwar-Wheatley and Karan are prohibited from providing financial products or services or holding key positions at financial institutions for the duration of their respective debarments.
The severity of the sanctions has also had immediate consequences for Africa Bitcoin Corporation.
The company’s board was informed of the FSCA decisions on 30 August. Wheatley subsequently resigned as a director of the company with effect from 31 August, while all three individuals resigned as directors of Altvest Credit Opportunities Fund, a wholly owned subsidiary, on the same date.
Company moves to contain fallout
Africa Bitcoin Corporation said the measures it introduced in response to the FSCA decisions were precautionary and non-disciplinary.
The company also stressed that the measures were taken without prejudice to the affected individuals’ rights and remedies, and did not amount to a determination by the board on the merits of the FSCA’s findings or any challenges to those decisions.
Stafford Masie has stepped into the leadership vacuum as interim CEO, with the company moving to maintain operational continuity while dealing with the regulatory fallout.
The development comes at a particularly sensitive time for Africa Bitcoin Corporation. The company has positioned itself as a listed Bitcoin treasury business and has been pursuing international expansion, including plans for a London listing. The FSCA action therefore places a major regulatory cloud over the company’s leadership as it seeks to grow its Bitcoin-focused strategy.
From Altvest to Africa Bitcoin Corporation
The company began as Altvest Capital and later repositioned itself around Bitcoin, eventually adopting the Africa Bitcoin Corporation name.
Its current corporate profile describes the business as Africa’s Bitcoin treasury company, with its ordinary and preference shares listed across multiple markets.
The FSCA’s findings, however, concern conduct dating back to the company’s earlier Altvest era and specifically transactions undertaken when it was listed on the CTSE.
That distinction is important: the regulator’s findings concern historical transactions involving Altvest shares, even though the company has since undergone a substantial strategic and corporate transformation.
For investors, the episode highlights why regulators scrutinise trading activity around listed companies, particularly where transactions involving insiders or connected parties can affect the appearance of market demand and price formation.
The FSCA’s mandate includes protecting financial customers and supporting the efficiency and integrity of financial markets. Its enforcement action against the former Altvest executives underlines that this mandate extends to conduct involving listed securities, regardless of how dramatically a company may subsequently change its business model or identity.
