ANC demands accountability from DA despite Mark Burke’s removal from Parliament committees

· The South African

The African National Congress (ANC) says the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) decision to remove Member of Parliament Mark Burke from Parliament’s finance-related committees does not bring an end to questions surrounding a South African Reserve Bank (SARB) investigation into fintech company Kastelo.

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The DA announced this week that Burke, its Federal Finance Chairperson, would no longer serve on Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance or in the party’s finance cluster while Kastelo is being investigated by the SARB.

DA Parliamentary leader George Michalakis said the decision was taken as a precautionary measure to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.

“After consultation with Dr Mark Burke, we have decided that out of an abundance of caution, and to avoid any perceptions of a conflict of interest, he will no longer serve on the finance committee or in the finance cluster while a company he is a beneficiary of is the subject of an inquiry by the SARB. We have now effected that change,” Michalakis said.

The DA has appointed Kingsley Wakelin as its new Finance Spokesperson.

The decision follows reports that SARB’s Financial Surveillance Department is investigating Kastelo over alleged contraventions of South Africa’s exchange control regulations involving transactions worth approximately R4 billion.

MARK BURKE AND KASTELO — HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Burke co-founded Kastelo with his brother and previously served as chairperson of the company. He has since distanced himself from the business, saying he resigned from Kastelo in 2024 to pursue a political career and ceased serving as chairperson of the broader Kastelo Group in February 2026.

The SARB investigation centres on Kastelo’s cryptocurrency arbitrage business and whether the company’s use of clients’ foreign-exchange allowances complied with South Africa’s exchange control regulations.

According to the Daily Maverick, reports on SARB’s affidavit, the company facilitated transactions in which clients converted rands into foreign currency, used the funds to purchase cryptocurrency on offshore exchanges and transferred the cryptocurrency back to South Africa, where it could be sold at a higher price.

The business model sought to profit from differences between cryptocurrency prices in offshore and South African markets.

The SARB alleges that approximately R4 billion was moved offshore through transactions it is investigating. The central bank suspects that South Africans’ authorised foreign-exchange allowances may have been used in a manner that circumvented exchange-control regulations.

SARB subsequently issued a blocking order over Kastelo’s funds held with Access Bank in November 2025 while its investigation continued.

Kastelo challenged the blocking order in the High Court, but the application was dismissed. Importantly, the court proceedings concerned whether SARB had sufficient grounds to issue the blocking order while its investigation continued; they did not amount to a final finding that Kastelo or Burke had breached exchange-control laws.

Burke has denied personal wrongdoing and has maintained that the court did not find that he had committed any offence or that exchange-control contraventions had been proven.

ANC CALLS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

The ANC has nevertheless argued that Mark Burke’s removal from Parliament’s finance structures does not resolve the broader questions arising from the SARB investigation.

ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the DA’s decision did not absolve Burke from accountability.

“The removal of Burke from parliamentary committees does not provide immunity or bring this matter to an end. Political office cannot shield anyone from scrutiny, and no individual is above the law,” Bhengu said.

Bhengu accused the DA of applying different standards when allegations concern members of its own leadership structures.

“The ANC calls on all relevant authorities to follow the facts, follow the money and ensure that accountability prevails,” she said.

The ANC has previously called for Burke to be removed from Parliament’s finance-related committees, arguing that his association with Kastelo created questions about his ability to participate in oversight of financial institutions, including the SARB.

The DA, however, has said it will not prejudge the outcome of the SARB investigation and has stressed the importance of due process and the independence of state institutions.

Burke’s removal means he will no longer participate in Parliament’s finance committee or the DA’s finance cluster while the investigation continues.

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