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Brazilian Judge Ends Inquiry Into Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Mastermind’s Death
17.8.2024
A Brazilian federal judge has ordered criminal charges against Johann Steynberg, the late CEO of the bitcoin trading platform Mirror Trading International (MTI), to be dropped after a police investigation confirmed reports of his death. The order was handed down by Judge Silvio Gemaque, who said...
Claims Against Collapsed South African Bitcoin Investment Firm Rise to $84.5 Million
7.6.2024
Claims against Mirror Trading International (MTI) have reached over $84.5 million (ZAR1.6 billion), with more than 8,000 proven creditors as of the end of April. The MTI estate still holds around $33.7 million in its accounts. Legal action is underway in multiple countries to recover withdrawals...
Liquidators of South African BTC Scam Allocate Nearly 40% of Recovered Funds to Legal Fees and Taxes
4.6.2024
Out of the approximately $60 million (ZAR1.1 billion) that was recovered to pay back victims of the collapsed bitcoin investment platform Mirror Trading International (MTI), only $34.3 million remains. Court documents reportedly state that liquidators have used the recovered funds to pay...
South African BTC Ponzi Scheme Mastermind Succumbs to Heart Attack While Detained in Brazil
29.4.2024
Johann Steynberg, the mastermind behind a South African bitcoin Ponzi scheme, recently died of a heart attack while under house arrest on a farm in Brazil. According to his Brazilian wife, Steynberg left no will and had no assets that could be inventoried. South African Police Investigate...
Investors in Collapsed Ponzi Scheme Resist Liquidator’s Attempts to Force Repayment at Current BTC Prices
20.2.2024
Investors in the bitcoin Ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International are reportedly resisting liquidators’ attempts to have them repay digital assets withdrawn before it collapsed. According to the investors’ lawyer, MTI liquidators are intentionally misinterpreting the Insolvency...
Report: Brazilian Court Fines Mastermind of South African Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
16.8.2023
A court in Brazil has found Johann Steynberg, the mastermind of the bitcoin ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International (MTI), guilty in a case in which he is accused of using a forged identity document. The court, however, commuted Steynberg’s three-and-a-half-year sentence to a fine of just...
US Court Orders Operator of South African Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme to Pay Over $3.4 Billion
2.5.2023
Johann Steynberg, the founder and CEO of Mirror Trading International, has been ordered to pay over $1.73 billion in restitution to victims of his bitcoin ponzi scheme. The court has also ordered Steynberg to pay a civil monetary penalty of a similar amount. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission...
Mirror Trading International Liquidators Spent More Than $6 million on Lawyers and Investigators
27.2.2023
Liquidators of the now defunct bitcoin trading platform, Mirror Trading International have so far used approximately $4.2 million on expenses such as lawyers’ or consultants’ fees. Between Jan. 23, 2023, and the date of their appointment, liquidators claimed to have recovered...
US Judge Orders Bitcoin Ponzi Operator Imprisoned for Ignoring Court Order to Pay SEC $40 Million
28.10.2022
A district judge has ordered a bitcoin Ponzi operator to be arrested and imprisoned after he ignored multiple court orders and failed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) $40 million. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 2015. Bitcoin Ponzi Operator Faces Imprisonment After...
CFTC Accuses Ohio Man of Running $12M Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
12.8.2022
The U.S. markets regulator filed a cease-and-desist order in a district court against Rathnakishore Giri and his companies over allegations of scamming investors interested in digital assets
Tax Collector Wants $55 Million From Collapsed Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme MTI — Liquidators Accused of Failing Their Duty
24.7.2022
In a fresh twist to the collapsed bitcoin Ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International (MTI) saga, revenue collector South African Revenue Services (SARS) has demanded $55.3 million from the scheme’s liquidators. The revenue collector added that it wants the tax bill settled before the...
China’s BSN chair calls Bitcoin Ponzi, stablecoins 'fine if regulated'
27.6.2022
Stablecoins like USDT and USDC would be doing just fine if properly regulated, while Bitcoin is a "Ponzi scheme" in any case, China's BSN chair told Cointelegraph
Masterminds Behind South African Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Told to Pay Back Over $291 Million
12.5.2022
Masterminds of one of South Africa’s biggest bitcoin Ponzi schemes, Mirror Trading International (MTI), have been asked by the scheme’s liquidators to pay back over $291 million to cover the scam operation’s debts. Liquidators’ Influence Liquidators of the South African...
Kenyans Lose Millions of Dollars to yet Another Cryptocurrency Scam: Bitstream Circle
20.3.2022
The masterminds behind the alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme called Bitstream Circle are believed to have stolen more than $10 million in investor funds. The alleged theft became apparent on March 13, 2022, when some of the scheme’s investors encountered problems making withdrawals....
CFTC Brings Charges Against 4 Alleged Operators of $44M Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
8.3.2022
Tuesday’s charges are just the latest in the CFTC’s efforts to regulate the crypto industry
CEO of Mirror Trading International Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Arrested in Brazil
8.1.2022
Johann Steynberg, the wanted CEO of Mirror Trading International was recently arrested by Brazilian law enforcement after he was caught using a fake document. The arrest, which took place in the country’s Goiás province, was carried out by the Brazilian military police. Fake...
Report: Mirror Trading International Said to Be Owed Over $129 Million by Previously Unaccounted for Debtors
7.12.2021
Mirror Trading International, the now-defunct fraudulent bitcoin investment platform, is said to be owed more than $129 million by debtors that had not been declared previously. Unaccounted for Debtors Liquidators of the collapsed South African bitcoin Ponzi scheme, Mirror Trading International...
FBI Joins Probe Into Collapsed South African Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
5.8.2021
In what is seen as a boost for Mirror Trading International (MTI) investors, United States investigators are said to have joined the probe into the collapsed bitcoin scheme. According to a report, the U.S. investigators’ goal for joining this probe is to help “recover the assets...
Two Masterminds in Last Ditch Effort to Stall Liquidation of MTI
4.8.2021
In a last-ditch attempt to stall the sale of Mirror Trading International (MTI) assets, two masterminds of the collapsed bitcoin Ponzi scheme have warned investors that liquidating the investment company will likely result in them being asked to return all withdrawn bitcoins. Opposition to Attempts...
Kenyan Insurance Executive Calls Cryptocurrencies Ponzi Schemes, Warns Users This Will ‘End in Tears’
2.8.2021
A Kenyan insurance executive, Julius Kipng’etich has compared cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to Ponzi schemes and has urged his countrymen not “touch this.” In addition, Kipng’etich warned those already involved in crypto trading to be prepared for the consequences as this...