South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has barred the CEO of Africa Bitcoin Corporation (ABC) and two senior executives from providing financial products or services, or from holding key positions at financial institutions, for a period of 20 years.

The regulator's decision affects CEO Warren Wheatley, Chief Investment Officer Akshay Karan, and Head of Media and Investor Relations Tatum Wheatley. Following the debarments, all three executives were removed from operational and decision-making responsibilities at ABC.

The FSCA, which supervises the conduct of South Africa's financial institutions and is responsible for licensing financial services providers under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act, has not publicly disclosed the reasons for its decisions, which were communicated privately to the executives. Warren Wheatley and Karan have been placed on precautionary leave, while Tatum Wheatley's consulting services to the group have been suspended.

ABC said in a statement that the three executives intend to seek reconsideration of the FSCA decisions and their suspension through the Financial Services Tribunal, an independent body that reviews decisions of South African financial regulators. They have also resigned as directors of Altvest Credit Opportunities Fund, a wholly owned ABC subsidiary.

The company has appointed Executive Director and Bitcoin Strategy Head Stafford Masie as interim CEO. Masie, a technology entrepreneur and former Google South Africa country manager, will oversee the group's executive arrangements relating to the fund.

ABC, formerly known as AltVest Capital, was the first listed African company to adopt Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, part of a global trend of publicly listed companies adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets that gained momentum after US firm MicroStrategy's high-profile purchases. According to the latest known statistic, the company currently holds 5.53 Bitcoin, valued at approximately 6.68 million Rand ($380,000) — a far smaller reserve than those of major corporate Bitcoin holders elsewhere. In addition to its Bitcoin holdings, ABC provides financial services, growth capital, and loans to small and medium-sized businesses.

The case also comes as South African regulators have stepped up oversight of the crypto sector, with the FSCA having been designated as the regulator of crypto asset financial services and licensing requirements for crypto providers having taken effect in recent years. Further clarity on the debarments may emerge if the Financial Services Tribunal review proceeds.