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Africa Bitcoin Corporation, the Johannesburg-listed company in which South African tycoon Rob Hersov is one of the largest outside shareholders, is the subject of a new investigation by the country's financial markets regulator into suspected manipulation of its share price.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority is examining a series of trades in the company's shares made in April and May this year, the company said in a statement reported by Daily Investor on Wednesday. News24 and Moneyweb also reported the probe.
The regulator is looking at possible breaches of section 80 of South Africa's Financial Markets Act, the provision that prohibits market manipulation. The company said the subjects of the probe are individual market participants, and that the regulator's notice does not name them or allege wrongdoing by Africa Bitcoin Corporation or its board, Daily Investor reported. The company said it will cooperate with the authority.
The disclosure comes days after the company told the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that four of its six directors, including Chair Norma Sephuma and interim Chief Executive Officer Stafford Masie, had resigned in a dispute with a shareholder group linked to its former chief executive, Warren Wheatley.
Hersov, a businessman and investor known for founding private-jet company Marquis Jets Europe and investor network Invest Africa, owned 6.16% of Africa Bitcoin Corporation as of February, according to the company's annual report, as cited by ITWeb. That stake placed him among the biggest holders outside the Wheatley group. News24 has named him, alongside BizNews founder Alec Hogg, as one of the company's investors.
Billionaires.Africa could not find a public response from Hersov on the new investigation.
A second regulatory case
The company said the new probe is separate from an earlier case in which the regulator debarred Wheatley, his wife Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley and former Chief Investment Officer Akshay Karan over trades in the company's shares in 2022, when it traded as Altvest Capital. Wheatley was fined R5 million ($300,000) and barred for 20 years.
The three deny wrongdoing and have asked the Financial Services Tribunal to reconsider the findings. Wheatley has said the trades in question totalled R301 ($18) and were made to test a new stockbroking platform. The regulator made no finding against the company itself in that case.
Wheatley stepped down as chief executive in September. Investment company WGW Capital, which Daily Investor described as Wheatley's investment vehicle and which holds about 35% of the company, demanded on Oct. 8 a shareholder meeting to appoint two new non-executive directors. Shareholders holding about 76% of the company backed the demand.
The board said it would not support the appointments, citing "governance and regulatory integrity" rather than the ability of the candidates, whose names have not been made public. A second demand, from holders of about 71.8%, sought the removal of four directors, who quit before a vote could take place.
Board rebuild
Only independent director Robin Coode and Financial Director Jonathan Phillips remain on the board. South African company law requires at least three directors, and the company has said it is working with advisers to bring the board back into line with legal and listing requirements.
Masie will stay on in an executive capacity until February 2027 to manage the handover. In its latest statement, the company said its management remains focused on keeping the business running.
Africa Bitcoin Corporation renamed itself from Altvest Capital in 2025 after deciding to hold bitcoin as its main reserve asset, following the model of US-listed Strategy. It also lends to small businesses. The company postponed a planned listing on London's Aquis Growth Market on Oct. 1, and its shares also trade over the counter in the United States.
It is not clear from public filings whether Hersov backed the shareholder demands that led to the board resignations.
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