FSCA opens new market manipulation probe into Africa Bitcoin Corporation

South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is investigating suspected market manipulation in the shares of Africa Bitcoin Corporation (ABC), the first Bitcoin treasury company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The regulator confirmed the probe on Wednesday, 14 October. It is examining whether certain trades in ABC securities during April and May 2026 broke section 80 of the Financial Markets Act, which prohibits market manipulation.

What the FSCA has confirmed

The FSCA told Moonstone it registered the investigation on 4 September 2026. However, it only became public this week. The regulator said it cannot share further details while the investigation is ongoing.

Notably, the FSCA has not said who the probe targets. Former CEO Warren Wheatley told Moneyweb he only learned of it on Wednesday, and that the letter names no one. Once the work is complete, the FSCA will refer its findings to its Enforcement Deliberation Forum for a decision.

Africa Bitcoin Corporation says no link to the earlier case

ABC said the notice does not connect the new probe to the FSCA’s earlier enforcement action. It also stressed that the investigation is not evidence of wrongdoing by any person or entity, and said it will cooperate with the regulator.

That earlier case ended in September with 20-year debarments for Wheatley, his wife Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley and former chief investment officer Akshay Karan. The FSCA found they coordinated trades in September 2022, when the company still traded as Altvest Capital. All three dispute the findings.

A company already under strain

The probe lands days after four of ABC’s six directors resigned under pressure from a shareholder group led by WGW Capital, which the Wheatley family controls. Interim CEO Stafford Masie was among them. As a result, independent director Robin Coode and financial director Jonathan Phillips are the only directors left.

The news also touches outside investors. According to Billionaires.Africa, South African investor Rob Hersov held 6.16% of ABC as of February, one of the largest stakes outside the Wheatley group.

What happens next

ABC must now rebuild a board that meets JSE requirements while the FSCA investigation runs. For Africa’s most visible listed Bitcoin treasury company, both outcomes will shape how investors and regulators judge the model.