DA leader backs finance chief as South African central bank probes Kastelo transfers
Opposition leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has backed the Democratic Alliance’s federal finance chair, Mark Burke, as the Reserve Bank examines his f...
South African opposition leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has backed the Democratic Alliance’s federal finance chair, Mark Burke, as the Reserve Bank examines his fintech company over transactions worth about R4bn. The case has put one of the party’s donors at the centre of a widening dispute over exchange controls.
Business Day reported on Monday that the central bank is investigating Kastelo, the company Burke founded, and has moved to freeze some funds it held with Access Bank. Burke has donated more than R400,000 to the DA.
What the Reserve Bank alleges
The Reserve Bank alleges Kastelo misrepresented its business activities to authorities in an effort to get around South Africa’s exchange-control regime. In an affidavit cited by Business Day, investigator André Malherbe said the company’s model rested on “conjecture and speculation”.
The affidavit also raised concerns about what investigators see as a systematic use of third parties’ foreign investment and single discretionary allowances to move money offshore. The bank says about R4bn was externalised through Kastelo’s business dealings.
Those allegations go to the heart of how tightly South Africa polices cross-border flows. Exchange controls remain a sensitive issue in many emerging markets, where central banks watch for schemes that may disguise capital movement or lean on loopholes in retail foreign-exchange rules. The Kastelo probe now sits in that broader debate.
Political pressure around a donor
Burke’s position adds a political layer to the financial inquiry. As a senior DA figure and donor, his company’s troubles have prompted Hill-Lewis to stand by him publicly while the Reserve Bank presses ahead.
The confrontation is likely to keep attention on both the party and the regulator, especially after the central bank’s move to freeze some of Kastelo’s funds with Access Bank. No outcome has been announced, and the investigation remains under way.
The Reserve Bank, through Malherbe’s affidavit, is making its case plainly: Kastelo’s activities, it says, were built on “conjecture and speculation.”