DA DILEMMA: Burke fallout could force Hill-Lewis from Cape Town or Sarupen from finance ministry

Party sources say the timing of the revelations is suspicious as Dr Mark Burke was part of a team set to blow the lid on malfeasance at the Public Investment Corporation. The SA Reserve Bank believes he has a case to answer on business dealings.

On Wednesday, 19 August 2026, newly minted DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis was meant to kickstart the DA’s campaign to win three metros in Gauteng on 4 November. It is the party’s big push north and the start of his goal to make it the largest party in South Africa.

Instead, that news was completely swamped by revelations that Kastelo, the forex crypto arbitrage company founded by DA finance boss and rising star, Dr Mark Burke, is facing a serious SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) probe. At first, the party was at sea on the right thing to do: for the young finance boss to tough it out or step aside.

Whistleblowers, Kastelo’s bankers and other clients alerted the Sarb to possible forex infringements involving billions of rand, which has sparked a furious court battle between the company and the central bank.

Burke is trying to back away fast – he is no longer a listed director according to Companies and Intellectual Property Commission records but his Parliamentary register of interests still shows declarations. The party has asked him to clarify his interests in a range of crypto, forex and fintech businesses.

The holding company is effectively a family business as his brother Nicholas Burke runs it. While Companies and Intellectual Property Commission records show he has stepped aside from the holding company, it’s not clear whether the rest of his interests are housed in a family or blind trust.

Best practice for wealthy businesspeople-turned-politicians is to house their interests in a blind trust. Daily Maverick has requested clarity from Burke and the DA and will add it once it is received.

Hill-Lewis had to step in on Wednesday to insist Burke step aside from three big oversight roles at Parliament.

In doing so, he overruled the DA’s first joint statement in which the party’s federal council chairperson and Deputy Finance Minister Ashor Sarupen said:

“The DA will not interfere with or prejudge the investigation. Should any competent regulatory authority or court ultimately make findings of wrongdoing against any DA public representative, the party will act appropriately. There is no finding of wrongdoing against Dr Burke that would justify the DA treating him as though such a finding had already been made.”

Hours later, the party changed tack and Burke stepped aside in what he says was voluntary, but reports suggest was insisted upon by Hill-Lewis.