Warren Whitley resigned from his position as CEO and employee of Africa Bitcoin Corporation on September 21, severing his last ties with the company, whose shares are listed on the JSE and which he founded.
The company's board of directors announced in a statement to investors on Tuesday morning that it accepted this resignation. Whitley had been on medical leave since August 31, which coincided with his departure as director, after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority banned him from operating for 20 years.
Stafford Massey, Google's first country manager in South Africa, continues to serve as interim CEO while the board of directors conducts the process of appointing a permanent successor. This medical leave was initially set for one month, but Whitley resigned before its expiration.
Details of the FSCA investigation
The FSCA published its findings on September 4. The regulator determined that between September 5 and 8, 2022, Whitley, who was then CEO of the predecessor Altvest Capital, acted jointly with his wife Teytum Keshwar-Whitley and Chief Investment Officer Akshaya Karan. Their actions led to trading that artificially inflated the share price, creating a false or misleading appearance of demand, supply, or trading activity in Altvest shares, or both.
The regulator found that all three parties violated section 80(1)(a) of the Financial Markets Act. An administrative penalty of 5 million rand was imposed on Whitley and WGW Capital jointly and severally, 3 million rand on Keshwar-Whitley and Tatum Keshwar Investments, and 2 million rand on Karan. All three were banned from operating for 20 years.
Regarding Bitcoin treasury
All three are challenging the findings and have stated their intention to apply to the Financial Services Tribunal for a review and suspension of these rulings. The announcement on Tuesday stated that Whitley's case and related proceedings before the tribunal are a personal matter for him and continue independently of the company.
The company did not provide any reasons for the resignation nor disclose the terms. Africa Bitcoin Corporation is the same legal entity as Altvest Capital, which has been renamed. Altvest acquired one bitcoin in February 2025, calling the purchase a systemic test, and became the first company in Africa to include bitcoin as a primary treasury reserve asset, which was included in the list of companies. In September of the same year, it proposed a name change, outlining plans to raise up to $210 million to purchase assets and clearly modeling its strategy after Michael Saylor. The company moved from AltX to the main JSE board in May.
The trading investigated by the FSCA occurred approximately two and a half years before the first of these steps. At the time of the last disclosed acquisition in May, the company held 5.5331 bitcoins. Its shares trade marginally, making the price susceptible to sharp fluctuations with small volumes.