Africa Bitcoin places two executives on leave after debarments

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.