State Capture Fallout: FSCA Slams Regiments’ Wood and Pillay With 18-Year Ban

JOHANNESBURG – The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has barred two of the most recognisable figures to emerge from the Zondo Commission’s investigation into State Capture at Transnet from working in South Africa’s financial services industry for 18 years.

Eric Anthony Wood and Niven Magandheran Pillay, former senior officials of Regiments Capital (Pty) Ltd and Regiments Fund Managers (Pty) Ltd, have been debarred from rendering financial services or serving as key individuals in the sector.

The FSCA announced the sanctions on 14 August 2026, bringing significant regulatory consequences for conduct laid bare during years of testimony before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.

The regulator’s action also highlights a stark feature of the post-Zondo landscape: while regulatory and civil proceedings have continued to produce consequences, the criminal justice system has struggled to translate many of the commission’s findings into completed prosecutions and convictions.

Eight years of misconduct

According to the FSCA, its investigation found that Wood and Pillay engaged in conduct between 2009 and 2016 that was inconsistent with the standards of honesty, integrity and good governance expected of senior figures in the financial services industry.

The investigation drew on findings made by the Zondo Commission and examined the conduct of the two men. At the same time, they were associated with Regiments Capital, a Category 1 financial services provider, and Regiments Fund Managers, a Category 2 provider.

Regiments Capital’s licence eventually lapsed in November 2020, while the FSCA withdrew Regiments Fund Managers’ licence in June that year.

The FSCA said its investigation uncovered evidence of improper payment arrangements, unlawful revenue-sharing practices and procurement practices that breached applicable statutory requirements.

The regulator concluded that the conduct materially affected Wood and Pillay’s fitness and propriety to operate as key individuals in the financial sector, particularly in relation to the requirements of honesty and integrity.

An 18-year debarment effectively removes the two men from regulated financial-sector roles for a substantial period and represents one of the strongest administrative sanctions available to the regulator.

Regiments and the Transnet State Capture saga

Regiments Capital became a central name in the Zondo Commission’s examination of how professional service providers allegedly benefited from State Capture at Transnet.

The commission’s findings raised serious concerns about transactions involving Regiments, including procurement processes, conflicts of interest and substantial advisory fees linked to transactions involving the state-owned freight and logistics company.

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The commission recommended that certain individuals and entities implicated in its findings face further criminal investigation and that efforts be made to recover money allegedly lost through irregular transactions.

The financial consequences extended beyond Transnet itself.

One of the transactions scrutinised was an interest-rate swap involving the Transnet Second Defined Benefit Fund. The transaction became the subject of civil litigation, with Regiments eventually settling claims brought by the pension fund.

The disputed transaction had resulted in high additional costs for Transnet, with the total financial impact reported at more than R1.4 billion.

For taxpayers and members of Transnet’s pension funds, the Regiments saga has therefore never been merely a question of corporate governance. It has been about whether individuals and professional firms that benefited from state-linked transactions would ultimately face meaningful consequences.

Criminal cases remain unresolved

The FSCA’s decision comes against the backdrop of a criminal justice process that has moved far more slowly.

Wood was arrested in May 2022 in connection with State Capture-related allegations involving Transnet. Nearly four years later, the matter has yet to reach trial.

The delay is part of a wider problem confronting the National Prosecuting Authority in dealing with cases arising from the Zondo Commission. Despite extensive evidence and detailed findings, relatively few of the major State Capture cases have reached final criminal resolution.

The Regiments matter has also been through a lengthy battle over assets.

In 2019, the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit secured a provisional High Court restraint order involving assets linked to Wood, Pillay, their former business partner Litha Nyhonyha and Regiments Capital.

The order was subsequently discharged by a Johannesburg High Court judge, who found that the state had failed to disclose material information when seeking the restraint.

The civil and regulatory consequences have consequently continued to unfold on a separate track from the criminal proceedings.

Regulatory action fills part of the accountability gap

The 18-year debarment illustrates how financial-sector regulators can impose consequences even when criminal proceedings remain unresolved.

The FSCA does not need to secure a criminal conviction before determining that an individual is no longer fit and proper to occupy a regulated position. Its mandate includes protecting the integrity of South Africa’s financial markets and ensuring that people operating within the sector meet prescribed standards of conduct.

That distinction is important in the broader State Capture reckoning.

A criminal prosecution must establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Regulatory proceedings operate under a different legal framework and focus, among other things, on whether individuals meet the standards required to participate in a regulated industry.

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For Wood and Pillay, the practical consequence is significant. Whatever the eventual outcome of the criminal proceedings, they have now been excluded from regulated financial-sector activity for nearly two decades.

Zondo’s findings continue to have a long tail

The FSCA’s decision is another indication that the consequences of the State Capture era are continuing to move through South Africa’s institutions, even years after the Zondo Commission completed its work.

The commission concluded its work in June 2022 after producing thousands of pages of evidence and findings on the capture of state institutions and the networks that allegedly enabled it.

Much of the public focus since then has centred on prosecutions. But the fallout has also taken the form of civil claims, asset-recovery efforts, regulatory investigations, corporate failures and reputational damage.

The FSCA’s action against Wood and Pillay adds another layer to that reckoning.

It also raises a broader question about accountability: whether the combination of regulatory sanctions, civil recovery and criminal prosecutions will ultimately be enough to recover the money lost during the State Capture period and deter similar conduct in the future.

For now, the regulator has made its position clear. Conduct that falls short of the standards of honesty and integrity expected in South Africa’s financial sector can carry consequences long after the transactions themselves have disappeared from the headlines.

The FSCA said further recovery proceedings, as recommended by the State Capture Commission, remain under consideration.

The criminal courts, however, have yet to deliver the final word on the allegations involving Wood and others linked to the Regiments saga.