Primary non-TechCentral reporting comes from EWN, the company’s own SENS/NSX announcements, MyBroadband, BusinessTech, News24, and the Windhoek Observer (covering the NSX-listed entity).
FSCA findings on the conduct (from non-TechCentral reporting)
EWN reported on 4 September 2026 that the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) penalised three senior officers of Altvest Limited (now Africa Bitcoin Corporation) for manipulating trading in the company’s shares. The regulator determined that Warren Gregory Wheatley (then CEO), his wife Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley, and chief investment officer Akshay Karan coordinated their trades between 5 and 8 September 2022. At the time the shares were listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange.
According to the FSCA (as reported by EWN):
- The coordinated trades created an artificially inflated share price.
- They created a false impression of greater demand for the shares than actually existed.
- This contravened the Financial Markets Act.
The FSCA imposed combined administrative penalties of R10 million and 20-year debarments on each of the three:
- Wheatley and his company WGW Capital: R5 million (jointly and severally).
- Keshwar-Wheatley and her company: R3 million.
- Karan: R2 million.
The debarments bar them from providing or being involved in financial products or services, acting as key persons of financial institutions, or providing services to financial institutions for 20 years.
News24 covered related aspects, noting Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley’s background as Miss South Africa 2008 and framing the matter around the “dodgy trades” that led to the 20-year debarments of the couple and Karan.
Company response and governance actions (SENS / NSX and other reporting)
Africa Bitcoin Corporation’s board was informed of the FSCA decisions on 30 August 2026. The decisions were initially communicated confidentially. The company’s SENS announcement (published via the JSE and also carried on the NSX) confirmed:
- Debarment orders against Warren Wheatley (CEO and executive director), Akshay Karan (CIO), and Tatum Wheatley (head of media and investor relations).
- The orders restrict the individuals from the activities noted above.
- No findings, administrative penalties, or debarment orders were issued against any entity in the group—the actions apply only to the three individuals.
Precautionary measures (effective 31 August 2026, initially for one month and subject to board review):
- Wheatley and Karan placed on precautionary leave from all executive, management, advisory, operational, and decision-making roles.
- Tatum Wheatley’s services (via her consulting business) suspended.
- Wheatley resigned as a director of Africa Bitcoin Corporation.
- All three resigned as directors of Altvest Credit Opportunities Fund (ACOF), the group’s wholly owned SME-lending/subsidiary vehicle.
- Stafford Masie (existing executive director and previously involved in the bitcoin strategy) appointed interim CEO. He oversees group executive arrangements relating to ACOF but does not serve as a director of ACOF.
The individuals dispute the FSCA findings and intend to apply to the Financial Services Tribunal for reconsideration and suspension of the orders. As of the company announcements, no suspension had been granted, so the debarments remain in force. The board described its measures as precautionary and non-disciplinary, without prejudice to rights or remedies, and not a determination on the merits of the FSCA findings.
MyBroadband, BusinessTech, and the Windhoek Observer (for the NSX listing) independently reported the same sequence of debarments, precautionary leave, resignations, and interim CEO appointment, consistent with the SENS notice.
Context noted in non-TechCentral sources
- The company began as Altvest Capital (incorporated 2021), listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange in 2022, later moved to JSE AltX, and rebranded/migrated toward a bitcoin treasury strategy (first bitcoin acquisition in early 2025; name change to Africa Bitcoin Corporation approved in 2025). The September 2022 trades predate the bitcoin pivot.
- The FSCA’s public list of media releases includes an entry dated around 3 September 2026 titled along the lines of “The FSCA takes regulatory action against senior officers of Altvest Limited,” aligning with the timing of the detailed disclosures reported by EWN and others.
Summary of independent confirmation
Non-TechCentral sources (especially EWN for the specific share-manipulation findings and penalty breakdown, plus the company’s formal SENS/NSX announcement and corroborating reports from MyBroadband, BusinessTech, News24, and Windhoek Observer) consistently establish:
- Coordinated trading in September 2022 by the three individuals.
- Artificial inflation of the share price / false appearance of demand.
- Contravention of the Financial Markets Act.
- R10 million total penalties and 20-year debarments.
- No action against group entities.
- Subsequent board-level governance responses and the individuals’ intention to challenge the decisions at the Financial Services Tribunal.
Further primary detail would come from the full FSCA press release or the formal enforcement decisions themselves (once fully published or obtained via official channels). The individuals’ Tribunal applications, if filed, would be the next procedural step and could result in suspension, reconsideration, or confirmation of the orders.
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