The US Federal Bureau of Investigation joined South African company Mirror Trading International, seen as 2020’s biggest cryptocurrency scam. It will help liquidators of the South African schemes recover assets of out-of-pocket investors.
According to Bloomberg, its overseers asked a South African court to declare the operation unlawful. The nation’s financial regulator has called it a Ponzi Scheme.
The firm’s liquidators “had meetings with international law enforcement agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, after being approached by them,” the grouping, made up of 5 MTI trustees, said in an email. “The FBI is joining forces with the liquidators of Mirror Trading International in the interest of several U.S. and local investors.”
The collapse of MTI highlights the safety of South Africa’s booming cryptocurrency market and plans for strict regulations. The second major scam emerged in June when two brothers disappeared along with Bitcoin from their own investment platform. MTI went into final liquidation in June. The company claimed to have over 260,000 members, and 23,000 BTC worth around $874 million at today’s price.
The whereabouts of Johann Steynberg, who spearheaded MTI, have been unknown since trader’s clients were unable to withdraw their funds. “Although there is a paper trail (airplane ticket) regarding his possible flight attempt to Brazil, no video or photo confirmation could be obtained that he did leave the country,” the joint liquidators said.
The liquidators also question the validity of court filing by Clynton Marks, the member of the MTI management team. They suggested that having “MTI declared an illegal entity would prejudice its investors.”
