ANC, MK Party open criminal cases against DA's Mark Burke

Two criminal cases have been initiated against Democratic Alliance (DA) member Mark Burke, the federal finance chair, by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)-aligned MK Party. The allegations center around approximately R4 billion in illicit transfers allegedly orchestrated by Burke’s former company, Kastelo, which operated under his leadership before he entered parliament in June 2024. According to documents filed with the police, the cases were opened following an investigation by the South African Reserve Bank, which has raised concerns over the illegal movement of funds overseas. Kastelo, a fintech firm specializing in algorithmic crypto arbitrage trading, is accused of using clients’ foreign investment and single discretionary allowances to transfer money abroad. The bank claims that the company processed transactions without client consent and misrepresented its operations in regulatory filings. MK Party representative Andile Mngxitama submitted a detailed sworn statement to Cape Town Central police on Friday, outlining the allegations. The document includes 49 paragraphs detailing the Reserve Bank investigator André Malherbe’s findings. Malherbe stated that many clients were unaware that foreign bank accounts had been opened in their names. Mngxitama requested that authorities determine Burke’s role during the alleged misconduct, whether he knew how the clients’ allowances were being utilized, and whether he personally profited from the transactions. In his statement, Mngxitama emphasized that the allegations are not speculative but based on evidence. He stressed that no individual, regardless of political ties or social status, should be exempt from legal scrutiny. He further criticized the DA for allegedly shielding Burke due to his status as a major donor. “White people have gotten away with lots of corruption and wrongdoing in this country,” he said. “It’s about time that the law stops discriminating and focusing only on black people.” Following Mngxitama’s action, ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli filed the second set of charges against Burke and Kastelo. Ntuli asserted that the Reserve Bank might have been defrauded and called for Burke’s resignation from parliament if the accusations prove true. These charges come shortly after a Johannesburg High Court ruling on July 28, which rejected Kastelo’s attempt to overturn a Reserve Bank order freezing its bank account. Judge S Johnson ruled that the bank had valid reasons to suspect the company violated exchange control laws and dismissed the application with punitive costs. The decision included fees for two legal representatives, reflecting the seriousness of the matter. The Reserve Bank had imposed the freeze on November 24, 2023, blocking R13 million in Kastelo’s Access Bank account. Access Bank initiated the probe after identifying suspicious activity and conducting its own forensic analysis. According to the court record, Kastelo had 891 clients whose combined annual discretionary allowances totaled R891 million, with foreign investment allowances reaching R8.9 billion. Clients were incentivized with bonuses of R2,000 and R10,000 for participating in the scheme. Access Bank discovered that individuals earning roughly R15,000 monthly received loans of up to R249,000 to facilitate the process. Malherbe’s report indicated that the suspected illegal transfer amounted to R4 billion, derived from cross-border foreign exchange records spanning Kastelo’s transactions between November 2021 and November 2025. The court’s findings include Kastelo’s own explanations for the transactions, though they did not refute the Reserve Bank’s suspicions. The ongoing legal proceedings will likely determine the extent of Burke’s involvement and the validity of the financial claims.