Next-generation mining investment company Mantengu has issued a letter to its shareholders stating there is strong evidence to suggest that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), together with certain Johannesburg-based SAPS precincts, is entangled with a sophisticated criminal syndicate using the exchange as a cover for share price manipulation, money laundering and racketeering.
The claims undermine the JSE’s long-standing public position as a highly ethical organisation. While the JSE’s code of conduct and ethics and its whistleblower hotline are ostensibly designed to enforce a zero-tolerance policy against corruption and illegal acts, a recent investigation by Matengu reveals a systematic pattern of fraud.
The criminal operation came to light when Mantengu noted suspicious anomalies in its share price. Suspecting a deliberate attempt to derail a pending acquisition and harm shareholders, the company launched an in-depth internal investigation.
According to Mantengu, this investigation uncovered an intricate criminal web:
- The syndicate’s primary goal is to target JSE-listed companies and force a change of control — typically by driving the share price down — leading to business rescue, delisting or liquidation.
- It then strips the target company’s asset portfolio and recapitalises the company’s investments at fire-sale values for their own benefit.
- This results in a loss to ordinary shareholders and stakeholders in the business but leaves the perpetrators with the assets of the company acquired at fire-sale values.
After confirming its suspicions, Mantengu reported the manipulation to the JSE but was “fobbed off”, according to CEO Mike Miller. When the JSE failed to launch an investigation, Mantengu reported the matter to the Hawks in March 2025 but was warned by the investigating officer that the docket might be hijacked.
As feared, the case was compromised when the docket was hijacked by a brigadier in the Randburg police station and the case closed.
Mantengu was advised to resubmit a criminal complaint in Pretoria instead of Johannesburg where the syndicate has significant influence, particularly in the Randburg, Sandton and Johannesburg SAPS precincts.
The evidence submitted to the Hawks is substantial, says Miller. It includes over five hours of authenticated recordings detailing the syndicate members’ modus operandi in driving down the share price of a company; nearly 500 pages of transcripts with the certified veracity statements; screen shots of WhatsApp communications; screen shots of email communications and various agreements showing that a well-known fraud examiner and forensic investigator has direct financial and business interests with various members of the criminal syndicate.
“The recordings outline how the syndicate meticulously operates to evade JSE detection using, among others, nominees and the round tripping of shares,” explains Miller. “They attempt to hide the ultimate beneficial owners and controlling parties, avoiding — on paper — exceeding the 35% mandatory offer level and round tripping shares by buying and selling using multiple buyers and sellers controlled by the syndicate. Syndicate members are heard bragging about previous manipulations.”
In addition, the recordings include an explosive statement from the CEO of a previously listed company who claims he was extorted by the syndicate and ultimately participated in the manipulation of his own company’s share price before it was delisted.
Other statements outline how shareholders were approached directly and threatened to force share sales, with share trades sometimes concluded in return for luxury vehicles.
Arguably the most damaging revelation is that senior JSE personnel are involved. Mantengu possesses email evidence — provided by a whistleblower — that some senior JSE staff are complicit. The emails, a series of communications between two JSE board directors and a third party, contain explicit instructions from the JSE directors and the third party to manipulate listed shares and warn against detection. They refer to payments for services in connection with manipulation in untraceable crypto currencies.
The emails specifically mention Mantengu, noting that the company’s “investigation was gaining momentum” and, as a result, instruct the head of the criminal syndicate to “back off” from the share manipulation.
Despite two attempts on his life and adverse court rulings, Miller is determined to pursue the investigation. “This is about so much more than manipulating our share price. At its core, this is a battle for the integrity of SA’s financial markets,” he says.
His advice to companies considering a listing on the JSE: “Until the JSE has cleaned house, think very, very carefully about it.”
Watch Miller on why Mantengu decided to go public with its findings:
Read Mantengu’s full letter to its shareholders:
Go full screen and zoom in for ease of reading.
This article was sponsored by Mantengu.
