Deepfake Scandal & Misconduct Findings Fuel Collapse Of Top SA Trading Firm

For many in South Africa, the promise arrived in a familiar, convincing form. A video of Elon Musk, or sometimes local billionaire Johann Rupert, appeared online endorsing a revolutionary new investment platform. The message was that advanced artificial intelligence could generate massive returns, turning a small deposit into life-changing wealth.

This was the gateway for hundreds of people to Banxso, an online trading platform that marketed itself as a democratising force in finance. Today, that gateway has slammed shut, sealed by a record ZAR 2 B (~USD 118 M) fine and a trail of devastation linking cutting-edge deepfake fraud to old-fashioned financial misconduct.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA)’s recently declared penalty against Banxso is the largest in South African regulatory history. It caps a catastrophic fall for a firm that, just a few years after its 2021 launch, had secured sponsorships with the national soccer team Bafana Bafana and UFC champion Dricus du Plessis to burnish its legitimacy.

The FSCA investigation found the company and its directors engaged in systematic abuse, involving misappropriating client funds, providing false information, and making unrealistic promises.

“The investigation found that Banxso and its key persons… misappropriated client funds, provided false and misleading information to clients and to the FSCA, promised clients unrealistic returns and failed to act in the best interests of its clients,” the regulator stated. The authority has now handed all evidence to the South African Police Service for a criminal investigation.

The Deepfake Pipeline

Central to Banxso’s rapid client acquisition was a network of deceptive social media and online advertisements. Investigations revealed a sophisticated lead-generation scheme. Deepfake videos of Musk, Rupert, and other tycoons promoted automated trading systems like “Immediate Matrix,” which promised monthly returns of over ZAR 300 K (~USD 17.7 K) from a ZAR 4.7 K (USD 277.79) deposit. Users who clicked were funneled directly to Banxso’s platforms, BanxsoX and AutoBanxso, to trade high-risk contracts for difference (CFDs).

Many victims reported being enrolled automatically, without clear consent. Banxso previously denied authorising these ads, even claiming its systems were hacked by a third party that inserted the leads. However, the sheer volume of victims pointed to a core business strategy. Over 380 people contacted one investigation, claiming combined losses of ZAR 280 M (~USD 16.5 M). In court papers, Banxso indicated it had around 7,000 customers, suggesting total losses could reach the billions.

One investor, who lost ZAR 500 K (~USD 29.5 K), reportedly took the drastic step of applying to court to have Banxso liquidated. Their experience was not unique. The Western Cape High Court placed Banxso under provisional liquidation in August 2025, with Judge Andre le Grange stating he was satisfied the company’s business model was itself illegal.

A Maximum Penalty

Beyond the ZAR 2 B administrative penalty on Banxso and directors Harel Adam Sekler and Warwick David Sneider, other key individuals faced massive fines. Former CEO Manuel de Andrade was fined ZAR 20 M, and others faced multi-million rand penalties. Crucially, Sekler, Sneider, De Andrade, and another key person, Mohammed Bux, were debarred from the financial services industry for 30 years each—the maximum sentence ever imposed by the FSCA.

In a simultaneous move, the regulator finalised the withdrawal of the financial services licence for Afrimarkets Capital, a platform linked to Banxso through common directorships and operating from the same Cape Town office. The FSCA found Afrimarkets guilty of near-identical misconduct. This action closed a loophole that appeared when, following initial negative reports about Banxso, a similar platform emerged under a different name.

In its response, Banxso stated it was exploring “all available mechanisms to address what we believe to be fundamental concerns with this outcome.” Afrimarkets similarly said it was “exploring all available legal options.”

The fallout continues. The FSCA has confirmed it is investigating two new platforms, Protea Markets and UMarketPro, following reports that they operate with a virtually identical model and employ many former Banxso and Afrimarkets staff. This suggests the regulatory crackdown, while historic, may be part of a longer game of whack-a-mole.

Meanwhile, resolution is far from over for the estimated thousands of clients. With Banxso under liquidation and a criminal probe underway, the path to recovering lost funds remains uncertain.