Not sure if this has been covered before.

One of the first steps is to take away their finances.

They need cash, but where can they get it since their contacts in SA are gone?

Bitcoin?

Word was circulating that it was potentially just one or a few actors causing the price of BTC to rise rapidly.

What better way to gather funds in a time of need than by directly extracting it from the "peasants" using one of the (supposedly) most difficult to track, secure systems in the world (blockchain).

Who would have both the financial know-how and resources to pull this off at such a grand level?

Maybe the family that controls the world's financial system?