The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has debarred three senior figures linked to Africa Bitcoin Corporation for 20 years each and imposed combined penalties of R10 million over alleged unlawful trading in the company’s shares.
The regulator said the conduct was aimed at artificially inflating the share price of the company, which was known as Altvest Capital at the time of the alleged transactions.
The three people affected are former chief executive Warren Wheatley, his wife and former Miss South Africa Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley, and former chief investment officer Akshay Karan.
The FSCA said the alleged unlawful trades took place between 5 and 8 September 2022, months after Altvest had listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange.
The regulator said the transactions created the appearance of stronger demand and trading activity than actually existed in the market.
“Through their coordinated conduct, they created an artificially inflated share price and/or a false or deceptive appearance of the demand for, supply of, or trading activity in Altvest shares,” the FSCA said.
The authority said the conduct contravened the Financial Markets Act. It debarred Wheatley, Keshwar-Wheatley and Karan from providing financial products or services or holding key positions at financial institutions.
The 20-year debarments represent the most serious regulatory action taken against the three individuals in connection with the alleged trading activity.
The FSCA also imposed separate administrative penalties linked to the roles the individuals allegedly played in the transactions.
R10 Million In Penalties
Wheatley and WGW Capital, a company linked to him, were fined R5 million. WGW Capital held a 34% stake in Altvest at the time of the alleged trades.
According to the FSCA, Wheatley executed trades through WGW Capital’s share-trading account in his capacity as a director of the company.
The regulator imposed a further R3 million penalty on Keshwar-Wheatley and Tatum Keshwar Investments, which held a 17% stake in Altvest at the time.
The FSCA said Keshwar-Wheatley executed trades through the investment company’s share-trading account in her capacity as its sole director.
Karan was fined R2 million for his alleged involvement in the transactions.
The combined penalties imposed on the three individuals and the companies linked to Wheatley and Keshwar-Wheatley amount to R10 million.
The FSCA said the debarments were imposed on the basis that the individuals had contravened financial-sector law or aided and abetted others in doing so.
The regulator’s findings relate to the alleged trading activity and do not amount to a finding against Africa Bitcoin Corporation itself.
Executives Removed From Company Roles
Africa Bitcoin Corporation’s board has since removed all three individuals from operational and decision-making responsibilities within the group.
Wheatley and Karan were placed on precautionary leave from 31 August. The company also suspended all services provided by Keshwar-Wheatley through her consulting firm.
Stafford Masie has been appointed interim chief executive officer as the company deals with the consequences of the regulatory action.
Wheatley has also resigned from the board.
Africa Bitcoin Corporation said the three individuals dispute the FSCA’s findings and intend applying to the Financial Services Tribunal for reconsideration and suspension of the decisions.
“The individuals will not be responding at this time,” said Masie, who referred questions to the company’s statement.
The company stressed that the FSCA had not made a finding against Africa Bitcoin Corporation itself.
“The individuals have informed the company that they dispute the FSCA findings and will be applying to the Financial Services Tribunal for reconsideration and suspension of the decisions,” Africa Bitcoin said in its statement.
The tribunal process could give the three individuals an opportunity to challenge the regulator’s findings and seek to have the decisions reconsidered while the dispute is being dealt with.
What The Regulator Found
The FSCA’s case centres on the alleged coordination of trades during a period when Altvest’s shares were listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange.
The authority said the trading activity created an artificially inflated share price or a false and deceptive appearance of market demand, supply or activity.
The findings raise questions about whether the transactions gave investors a misleading impression of interest in the company’s shares.
Financial-market rules prohibit conduct designed to manipulate prices or create a false impression of trading activity because investors rely on market information when deciding whether to buy or sell shares.
The FSCA action is administrative and regulatory in nature. The regulator’s decision means the three individuals cannot perform certain roles in the financial-services industry for the duration of the debarments unless the decisions are changed through the appeal process.
The matter is now expected to move to the Financial Services Tribunal, where the individuals will seek reconsideration and suspension of the FSCA’s decisions.
From Altvest To Africa Bitcoin Corporation
Altvest listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange in May 2022, shortly before the period in which the alleged unlawful trading took place.
The company moved its primary listing to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Alternative Exchange, known as AltX, in October 2024. It retained a secondary listing on A2X Markets.
In September 2025, the company changed its name to Africa Bitcoin Corporation.
It also announced plans to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire bitcoin and use the cryptocurrency as a reserve asset for its treasury.
The company provides loans to small and medium-sized businesses across Africa. Its business model involves using bitcoin as collateral to access international funding at lower interest rates.
The company says this allows it to raise lending capital at a lower average cost and potentially offer loans to borrowers at more competitive rates.
The regulatory action now comes at a significant point in the company’s development as it seeks to build its identity around bitcoin and expand its lending operations.
The removal of the chief executive and chief investment officer, together with the suspension of services provided by Keshwar-Wheatley, has also forced the company to make changes to its leadership and governance arrangements.
Appeal Process Ahead
The three individuals have disputed the FSCA’s findings and are expected to ask the Financial Services Tribunal to reconsider the decisions.
Their application is also expected to seek the suspension of the debarments and penalties while the appeal process is under way.
Until the tribunal considers the matter, the FSCA decisions remain the basis for the restrictions imposed on the three individuals.
The regulator has not indicated whether further action will be taken against any other people connected to the alleged trading activity.
Africa Bitcoin Corporation has said it is continuing to operate under its new interim leadership and that the FSCA’s findings were directed at the individuals involved, not the company itself.
The case has placed the company’s former leadership, its early listing history and the conduct of the share trades under renewed scrutiny.
It has also highlighted the regulatory consequences that can follow when a financial-market authority concludes that trading activity created a false or deceptive picture of demand.
The three debarments will run for 20 years unless the decisions are overturned, suspended or changed through the tribunal process.
