ABC Shareholders Seek Board Seats After South Africa Market Sanctions
Shareholders holding about 76% of Africa Bitcoin Corporation want a meeting to appoint two non-executive directors after South Africa's FSCA sanctioned three former Altvest executives.
Shareholders controlling about 76% of Africa Bitcoin Corporation are pushing for two new board appointments after South African market sanctions forced leadership changes at the bitcoin-focused company, ITWeb reported.
The demand comes from WGW Capital and other shareholders after co-founder Warren Wheatley resigned as chief executive.
WGW is owned by a family trust whose beneficiaries include Wheatley and his immediate family, placing the former CEO's shareholder base at the centre of the next governance fight.
ABC acknowledged that the request for a shareholder meeting was legally valid, but the board opposed the proposed appointments.
The company tied its objection to governance and regulatory integrity concerns in what it called exceptional circumstances, while stressing that the objection was not a judgment on the experience or capability of the unnamed candidates.
The shareholder push follows a sanctions order from South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
Wheatley received a R5 million fine and a 20-year debarment, while former media and investor relations head Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley was fined R3 million and chief investment officer Akshay Karan was fined R1 million.
The combined penalties total R9 million, and the authority barred the executives from regulated financial-services roles for two decades.
The FSCA's case centres on coordinated trades that it says pushed Altvest's market price upward and made buyer interest appear stronger than it was during the Cape Town Stock Exchange listing.
Altvest later moved to the JSE's AltX and was renamed Africa Bitcoin Corporation last September.
The alleged manipulation took place in September 2022, four months after Altvest first listed.
Shareholding records give the dispute a second layer.
ABC disclosed on 18 August that Wheatley and related parties, including WGW Capital, Tatum Keshwar Investments and director Kayle Wheatley, had increased their combined stake from 45.60% to 50.35%.
ABC's 2026 annual report separately listed other major shareholders in February, including Dorsia Holdings at 7.03%, RB Hersov at 6.16% and Creation Mezzanine Fund En Commandite at 5.07%.
ABC said the FSCA orders were not issued against any entity in the group, but the company treated the decisions as immediately relevant to its regulatory position.
Wheatley was placed on precautionary suspension at the end of August, Stafford Masie stepped in as interim CEO, and ABC told shareholders at the beginning of September that the measures were intended to protect regulatory standing and preserve governance and operational continuity.
Wheatley has denied admission of wrongdoing.
He described his resignation as voluntary and said he would keep his rights before the Financial Services Tribunal.
ABC will convene the shareholder meeting under applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
The proposed directors' identities, the board's fuller position and the meeting date have not yet been announced, while Masie remains interim CEO as the company searches for a permanent replacement.
