According to TechFlow, on October 17, Cryptonews reported that the Financial Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa announced the temporary revocation of the financial services provider license of the trading platform Banxso. The FSCA pointed out that Banxso was suspected of using deep fake technology to create advertisements and adopting aggressive sales strategies to promise customers unrealistic returns, causing a large number of customers to suffer heavy losses.

The FSCA said Banxso may have been involved in the creation of deepfake ads involving well-known billionaires such as Elon Musk, Johan Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer. These ads were widely circulated on social media, misleading investors. Many customers claimed to have suffered losses after deciding to invest, but Banxso denied any involvement in these ads.

In response to these issues, the FSCA notified the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Asset Forfeiture Unit and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and requested that seven of Banxso’s accounts be frozen. The FIC froze Banxso’s bank accounts in early October, and the Western Cape High Court upheld the FIC’s decision on October 8. On October 14, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) obtained a preservation order for the company’s funds under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.