DA federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has called Mark Burke in for talks as the party’s powerful Federal Executive meets on Wednesday to consider, among other issues, the controversy surrounding a South African Reserve Bank (SARB) investigation into a company Burke founded and its implications for his future in the party.
DA federal chairperson Solly Msimanga confirmed to Africa Daily on Tuesday evening that the party leadership had engaged Burke and that a report on the matter would be placed before FedEx, which would then decide what steps should follow.
The controversy centres on Kastelo, a financial services company founded by Burke, which is under investigation by the Reserve Bank over suspected exchange-control contraventions involving billions of rands in foreign currency transactions.
Burke, who is a member of the DA’s Federal Executive and serves on finance-related structures in Parliament, has strongly denied any personal wrongdoing and insists he is not himself under investigation.
Asked whether the DA should consider asking Burke to step aside from parliamentary structures while the Reserve Bank investigation continues, Msimanga said FedEx was still considering the matter.
“FedEx is still applying its mind on that. We are engaging. The leader has actually engaged with Dr Burke,” Msimanga said.
“There is going to be a report that will come to FedEx and then FedEx will apply its mind in terms of what happens going forward.”
Msimanga would not pre-empt the outcome of Wednesday’s meeting, saying Burke’s responses to questions put to him would inform the party’s next move.
“I cannot at this point begin to then say this is what is going to happen because that meeting which they had and, as you rightly said, questions that have been asked, the responses will then determine what happens next,” he said.
He said the DA had deliberately held back from making definitive pronouncements while it established the facts.
“This is why you haven’t seen us responding because you want to respond with facts. You don’t want to respond harshly or respond without having your ducks in a row because then the potential is that you’re going to end up with egg on your face,” Msimanga said.
The internal deliberations come after details emerged about the Reserve Bank investigation into Kastelo and a High Court battle over the freezing of funds linked to the company’s foreign exchange arbitrage business.
Burke is the founder and a significant shareholder of Kastelo, a registered financial services provider which used clients’ foreign exchange allowances to conduct arbitrage trades involving cryptocurrency.
The model involved deploying foreign currency to exploit differences between the prices of crypto assets internationally and domestically before profits were returned to South Africa in rands.
The Reserve Bank, however, said it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect that aspects of the transactions contravened exchange-control regulations.
In November 2025, the SARB blocked Kastelo’s account with Access Bank, through which the transactions were being routed.
According to court papers, about R4 billion had exited South Africa through the scheme, while approximately R13 million in client funds remained in the account when it was blocked.
Kastelo subsequently approached the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg in an attempt to have the blocking order overturned.
But on 28 July, acting Judge Peet Johnson dismissed the application with costs, finding that the Reserve Bank did not need conclusive proof of an exchange-control violation before issuing the blocking order and required only reasonable grounds for its suspicions.
The blocking order is a preliminary measure while the Reserve Bank completes its investigation. The SARB has up to 36 months to finalise the process, after which it could seek the forfeiture of the funds or release them.
Burke moved on Tuesday to distance himself personally from any suggestion of wrongdoing, stressing that the judgment did not make adverse findings against him or Kastelo.
“The High Court judgment does not make any finding of wrongdoing against Kastelo, nor myself,” Burke said.
“Nor does the judgment constitute a finding that exchange control contraventions have been proven. The matter before the court concerned whether the Reserve Bank had grounds to issue a blocking order while its investigation continues. The court found that it did.”
Burke said he was confident that the Reserve Bank process would ultimately establish that he had committed no wrongdoing.
He also sought to clarify his relationship with the company, saying he was neither chairperson of Kastelo Proprietary Limited nor involved in its daily operations.
“I previously served as chairperson of the broader Kastelo group but ceased serving in that position in February 2026,” he said.
“I resigned from Kastelo in 2024 to pursue a political career.”
Burke further maintained that he had taken measures to prevent his business interests from creating conflicts with his parliamentary responsibilities.
“Since entering parliament I have consistently informed my party and the finance committee secretary that I cannot be involved in any matters relating to the SARB to avoid any conflicts of interest. The record of recusal is very clear,” he said.
“I did this to maintain strong ethical boundaries and will continue to do so.”
Burke said he had also made the necessary declarations to Parliament and its members’ interests register.
“No allegation of misconduct or malfeasance has been made against me personally, and I am personally not subject to any investigation by any entity or agency,” he said.
Kastelo has also disputed the Reserve Bank’s interpretation of its business model.
At the centre of the disagreement is the company’s use of clients’ single discretionary allowance and foreign investment allowance to facilitate the transactions.
The SARB argued in court papers that Kastelo effectively used individuals’ allowances for its own benefit and raised concerns that clients did not engage directly with authorised foreign exchange dealers for each transaction.
Kastelo disputes this, maintaining that it obtained the legally required permission from clients and was authorised, as a licensed financial services provider, to execute transactions on their behalf under discretionary mandates.
“As an authorised financial services provider, Kastelo provided an arbitrage service to our clients, making it possible for them to invest abroad, utilising their SDA and potentially FIA allowance,” the company said.
It said its arbitrage service allowed clients to profit from differences between domestic and international cryptocurrency prices, with money ultimately being returned to South Africa.
The SARB, however, argued that the return of funds in rands did not resolve its concern because foreign exchange resources had left the country.
Kastelo has since voluntarily suspended the arbitrage service at the centre of the dispute while continuing with its other operations.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Kastelo has voluntarily paused its arbitrage services, which is the service that SARB objected to,” the company said.
The controversy has meanwhile opened Burke and the DA to political attacks from opposition parties, which are demanding consequences while the investigation continues.
The ANC has called for Burke’s immediate removal from Parliament’s finance-related committees while awaiting investigation outcomes.
ANC Parliamentary Caucus spokesperson Hlengiwe Hadebe said his continued participation in structures responsible for financial oversight was “simply untenable”.
“Parliament cannot demand accountability from the Reserve Bank while tolerating a glaring conflict of interest in its own oversight structures,” Hadebe said.
“Members of Parliament must be held to a higher standard. Mr Burke’s association with Kastelo falls far short of what South Africans expect from their leaders.”
Burke represents the DA on Parliament’s appropriations committee and is an alternate representative on the Standing Committee on Finance.
The EFF has similarly seized on the controversy, arguing that Burke’s links to the company raise broader questions about the DA’s leadership.
“If a senior DA leader can be associated with a business facing serious financial crime allegations in its dealings with clients who entrusted it with their money, South Africans cannot hold confidence in him and his party’s political leadership to put the interests of ordinary citizens first when entrusted with public resources,” the EFF said.
The pressure now shifts to the DA’s Federal Executive, to which Burke himself was elected in April.
Msimanga said the party would determine its position after considering the information before it and Burke’s responses.
“You rather then say this is what we’ve picked up, this is what the steps are that are going to need to be taken, and this is the stance of the party going forward,” he said.
“That’s what we’re going to be doing.”
