Africa Bitcoin Corporation (ABC) has placed two senior executives on precautionary leave, suspended the services of its head of media and investor relations, and appointed an interim chief executive after the company disclosed that the Financial Sector Conduct Authority had issued debarment orders against them.
The decisions affect ABC chief executive and executive director Warren Wheatley, chief investment officer Akshay Karan, and Tatum Wheatley, the head of media and investor relations.
ABC, formerly Altvest Capital, is a JSE-listed financial services group that provides private credit and other funding instruments to small and medium-sized enterprises and holds Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
According to ABC, its board was informed of the FSCA’s decisions on 30 August 2026. The company implemented its governance and leadership changes with effect from 31 August and disclosed the matter to shareholders in a SENS announcement on 1 September.
ABC said the “alleged event” underlying the decisions occurred in September 2022, around the time of its original listing on the Cape Town Stock Exchange, nearly four years before the decisions were issued and before the current board was constituted in its present form. The company did not disclose the nature of the event or how the FSCA characterised the conduct of each individual.
ABC said the three individuals dispute the FSCA’s findings and intend applying to the Financial Services Tribunal for reconsideration and suspension of the decisions. As at 1 September, no application had been filed and no order suspending the decisions had been granted. ABC was therefore treating the decisions as operative.
Scope of the FSCA action is unclear
ABC said the debarment orders restrict the three individuals from:
- providing or being involved in providing financial products or financial services;
- acting as key persons of financial institutions; or
- providing services to financial institutions.
The SENS refers to “FSCA decisions” and says these decisions “include debarment orders”. The announcements do not specify whether the debarment orders were the only regulatory or enforcement measures imposed on the three individuals.
According to ABC, the FSCA’s decisions were communicated confidentially to the individuals. They had not been published on the regulator’s website as at 2 September.
The information publicly available does not disclose:
- which statutory provisions formed the basis of each order;
- what conduct and findings formed the basis of the respective orders;
- whether the findings against the three individuals relate to the same underlying event and, if so, how their respective conduct was characterised;
- when each order was made and served;
- when each debarment took effect; or
- how long each debarment will remain in force.
Moonstone approached the FSCA for details of the decisions, including their statutory basis, the findings against the individuals, the dates on which the orders were made and served, and whether the decisions comprised debarment orders only or included other regulatory measures.
The FSCA has undertaken to provide a media release on the matter on 3 September after the JSE has closed. This article will be updated once release has been issued.
Publication of debarment orders
Section 153(7) of the Financial Sector Regulation Act states that the responsible authority “must publish each debarment order” it makes. The Act does not, in section 153(7), specify a particular period within which publication must occur.
The FSCA’s administrative-action procedures describe the publication of a debarment order as a “peremptory publication”, expressly referring to the obligation in section 153(7). The regulator’s enforcement register also routinely makes copies of published enforcement orders available.
Publication is not what brings a debarment order into effect. Section 153(3) provides that an order takes effect on the date on which it is served on the person concerned or, if the order specifies a later date, on that later date.
An order can therefore be operative before it is published.
Board acts the day after being informed
ABC said its board was informed of the FSCA decisions on 30 August.
With effect from 31 August, Warren Wheatley and Karan were placed on precautionary leave from their positions as chief executive and chief investment officer, respectively.
They were also placed on leave from all group executive, management, advisory, operational, and decision-making responsibilities.
The services provided by Tatum Wheatley through her consulting business were suspended, subject to the applicable services agreement.
ABC said none of the three would exercise authority on behalf of, or represent, ABC, Altvest Credit Opportunities Fund Limited (ACOF), or the group during the initial suspension period.
The precautionary leave and suspension measures took effect on 31 August and will apply initially for one month, subject to review by the board.
ABC described the measures as precautionary and non-disciplinary. It said they did not constitute a determination by the board about the merits of the FSCA’s findings or the individuals’ intended challenges.
The company’s media release added that the measures did not depend on the outcome of the legal proceedings contemplated by the individuals.
Warren Wheatley resigned from the ABC board with effect from 31 August. He, Karan, and Tatum Wheatley also resigned as directors of ACOF, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABC.
Stafford Masie, an existing ABC executive director and its director of Bitcoin strategy, became interim chief executive on the same date.
He will also oversee the group’s executive arrangements relating to ACOF, although he will not serve as a director of the subsidiary.
ABC described the changes as part of the board’s immediate response to protect the group’s regulatory position and preserve governance and operational continuity.
Company says no group entity was sanctioned
ABC has emphasised that the FSCA’s decisions were issued against the three individuals and not against the company, ACOF, or another entity within the group.
According to the company, no group entity was subjected to an FSCA finding, administrative penalty, or debarment order. The debarment orders apply only to the individuals.
ABC said the FSCA’s decisions did not themselves alter the legal structure of ABC or ACOF, ACOF’s investment mandate, or the rights attached to investments in the group’s securities or funds.
However, the board and its advisers are assessing the regulatory, operational, and financial implications of the decisions and will implement further measures if considered necessary.
ABC said the group remains under the oversight of directors and executives who are not affected by the FSCA’s decisions. It has also sought to reassure stakeholders that its operations and strategy will continue under the interim leadership arrangements.
Chairperson Norma Sephuma said the board recognised the seriousness of the development and its responsibilities to shareholders, investors, funders, clients, employees, and regulatory stakeholders.
She said the relevant board resignations had taken effect, interim leadership arrangements were in place, and responsibilities had been established across the group.
Sephuma said the board would respect the individuals’ intended legal challenge while maintaining an independent and objective position.
Masie said his responsibility was to provide stability, protect what had been built, and maintain the momentum of the business while the individuals exercised their legal rights.
He identified disciplined execution, sound governance, regulatory compliance, and the protection of investor interests as the company’s immediate priorities.
