Johann Steynberg, CEO of Mirror Trading International (MTI), a South African-based trading platform, was caught in Brazil for being linked to a Ponzi scheme using bitcoin (BTC).
The Brazilian police recently reported that they arrested Steynberg, on December 30, 2021, in the province of Goiânia. The subject mobilized between 2019 and 2020, around 16,000 BTC, from various investment platforms with cryptocurrencies.
“After an intense work of identification and monitoring, and with the help of information provided by the Federal Police of Brazil, it was possible to identify and approach the suspect, who at the time of the approach presented a false identity”, reported the security forces of the South American country.
South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) reported that MTI’s “top management” was conducting an “illegal operation, misleading its clients.” Following the warning issued by the authorities, Steynberg fled his country in 2020, after preventing users from accessing their investments.
They also warned that MTI did not have the necessary permits to offer financial services with cryptocurrencies.
Johann Steynberg, CEO of Mirror Trading International, was arrested in Brazil with a false ID and several credit cards. Source: techbondhu.com
Since 2021, South African financial regulators have been working to establish regulatory standards for cryptocurrencies, a change in their policy of not intervening in that…
