The DA has announced that the party’s federal chairperson of finance and Member of Parliament (MP), Mark Burke, has been removed from parliamentary finance committees.
The party’s chief whip, George Michalakis, made the announcement earlier on Wednesday.
“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.”
It comes after pressure was mounting on Burke to step aside amid scrutiny of the company he founded, Kastelo.
Kastelo used clients’ annual foreign investment allowances to buy cryptocurrency assets in the United States and resell them in South Africa, profiting from the price difference between the two markets.
The Reserve Bank says the arrangement may have breached exchange-control regulations because Kastelo made decisions on behalf of clients throughout the trading process.
A High Court last month upheld the Reserve Bank’s blocking order against Kastelo while its investigation continues.
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Say it isn’t so! One of the DA’s paragons of virtue — its finance chairperson, Mark Burke — is ensnared in an investigation by the Reserve Bank. They’re looking at a “reasonable suspicion of exchange control regulations to the tune of R4-bn”. Burke is chairman of Kastelo, the… https://t.co/KcLAANQB1J
— Chris Vick (@chrisvick3) August 17, 2026
The ANC Parliamentary Caucus and GOOD’s Brett Herron had called for Burke to be removed from Parliament’s finance-related committees.
Parliament must uphold accountability.
GOOD is calling for DA MP Mark Burke to be withdrawn from Parliament’s finance oversight structures following serious concerns raised in a High Court matter involving his company, Kastelo.
If Parliament is to hold Treasury and the Reserve… pic.twitter.com/AOxg7crNWC
— GOOD (@ForGoodZA) August 18, 2026
The EFF also questioned whether Burke could continue serving in a senior financial oversight role while Kastelo is under investigation by the South African Reserve Bank.
The EFF’s Statement on the Reserve Bank Investigation Into DA Federal Finance Chairperson Mark Burke
-The allegations against Burke therefore expose a far deeper political issue for the DA. The conclusion that the EFF therefore reaches is simple: if a senior DA leader can be… pic.twitter.com/VMcCpGVARS
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) August 17, 2026
In a statement on Tuesday, Burke said he was no longer involved with Kastelo and resigned from the company in 2024 to pursue a political career. He said he left his position as chairperson of the broader Kastelo group in February this year.
Burke maintains that the High Court made no finding of wrongdoing against him or Kastelo, and that he is not personally under investigation.
Uh, no. This addresses only very narrow procedural points. Burke does not deny being a director of multiple Kastelo entities, or that he was involved in their products and strategies at the material time. If his lawyers are telling him he can’t answer more substantive questions,… https://t.co/FpShhNoav6
— Nicholas Dawes (@NicDawes) August 18, 2026
