The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) says it will start an investigation into the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), citing what it calls increasingly concerning developments around governance, leadership stability and transparency at the state asset manager.
The announcement late on Tuesday comes a day after the PIC — the biggest investor on the JSE with assets worth more than R3-trillion — suspended CEO Patrick Dlamini, who has been at its helm for just over a year, in connection with allegations of wrongful conduct.
The PIC said its acting chief investment officer August van Heerden, who stepped in after the ousting of Kabelo Rikhotso in March, would also not continue in the role.
In a brief statement the FSCA — whose mandate is to ensure financial institutions treat customers fairly, markets operate efficiently and transparently and confidence in the system is maintained — said it is worried about the “potential impact of these developments on the integrity and confidence in one of South Africa’s important financial institutions”.
“As the country’s largest asset manager and custodian of substantial public sector savings, [the PIC] bears heightened responsibilities to maintain the highest standards of governance, integrity, accountability and conduct.
The FSCA has decided to conduct an investigation relating to these developments at the PIC in terms of section 135 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act
— Financial Sector Conduct Authority
“Events over recent months raise serious questions as to whether these standards are being consistently upheld. Consequently, the FSCA has decided to conduct an investigation relating to these developments at the PIC in terms of section 135 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act,” it said.
The moves on Dlamini and Van Heerden follow Rikhotso’s departure under a cloud in March, having been placed on precautionary suspension five months earlier after a whistleblower complaint against him over allegations of wrongdoing.
Dlamini was appointed CEO in June 2025 with a mandate to, among other things, clean up the entity’s embattled unlisted investment book, the Isibaya Fund, which has been dogged by underperformance and disastrous investments over the years.
In its statement on Monday, the PIC said the board believed it was necessary to provide Dlamini with “sufficient space and time to respond to allegations of impropriety against him that were submitted to the board in a whistleblower report last month”.
On Wednesday the PIC board said it had furnished the FSCA with the information and documentation it requested on the whistleblower report and associated governance process.
It said it and the previous board had prioritised strengthening governance and implementing the recommendations of the Mpati commission established in 2018 to look into allegations of impropriety at the PIC.
“While challenges remain, the PIC has made significant progress in strengthening the corporation’s governance framework and oversight processes. The board remains fully committed to co-operating with all regulators and ensuring governance matters are addressed through independent, credible and transparent processes,” the PIC said in a statement.
Last month deputy finance minister and PIC chair David Masondo asked the Special Investigating Unit to weigh in on a years-long dispute involving an empowerment transaction funded by the state asset manager and a subsequent settlement that resulted in it paying more than R400m.
Update: July 15 2026
This story has been updated with comment from the PIC.
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