Almost two years after it was liquidated, a court has finally ruled that Mirror Trading International was an"unlawful Ponzi scheme" that generated returns for early investors with investments taken from those who joined later.
The Stellenbosch-headquartered bitcoin-trading scheme collapsed in December 2020 after it abruptly halted payments to members and its founder and CEO, Johann Steynberg, went missing. Steynberg wasThe Western Cape High Court has now ruled that the MTI's underlying business model was"designed and implemented to perpetrate fraud on members of the public". "The remarkable results presented to investors were prima facia false," said acting Judge Alma de Wet.
De Wet ruled that all agreements concluded between MTI and its investors"in respect of the trading/management/investment of bitcoin" were unlawful.