Over 9,000 people have said they lost a combined R6.5 billion when Mirror Trading International (MTI) collapsed in 2020, and after more than five years, not one of the kingpins has been prosecuted.

While a handful of individuals spent time in holding cells, none had been charged with fraud related to MTI or with operating a pyramid scheme.

MTI was the biggest pyramid scheme ever operated in South Africa. Even using the most conservative estimates, at least R14.7 billion worth of bitcoin flowed through it by the time of its collapse.

The scheme launched in 2019 and attracted members worldwide by promising outlandish monthly returns and offering ways to earn substantial bonuses by recruiting more people into the scheme.

MTI made headlines in September 2020 when a group calling itself Anonymous ZA exposed the scheme’s inner workings, together with a MyBroadband investigative journalist and community members.

The scheme was put into provisional liquidation on 29 December 2020, and a final liquidation order was granted against the scheme on 30 June 2021.

MTI’s liquidators recently told MyBroadband that they had identified 304,044 registered users in the scheme’s books, including debtors who made a profit and have no claim against the estate.

“9,441 claims have been received to the value of almost R6.5 billion, as at 16 February 2026,” the liquidators stated.

“The value will reduce based on the outcomes of the claims’ investigation and objection process that is about to commence.”

However, regarding arrests, the most notable was that of the scheme’s late CEO and ostensible founder, Johann Steynberg, who was detained in Brazil in 2021 for using a fake ID.

Steynberg reportedly died under house arrest while awaiting an extradition hearing in 2024. According to the official medical report, he died of a pulmonary thromboembolism.

Last year, his former second-in-command, Clynton Marks, was detained at Cullinan Police Station under Section 66 of the Insolvency Act for failing to satisfactorily answer questions in MTI’s liquidation enquiry.

Criminal investigation into MTI

Arrest of Johann Steynberg in Brazil in 2021
Sources in law enforcement have told MyBroadband that the MTI case is under investigation and that the lack of arrests should not be seen as a lack of progress.

However, they also said the lack of an outcome was due to the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) being woefully under-resourced.

Teams assigned to technically complex cases, such as MTI, also had other work to do. For example, in May alone, the Hawks announced positive outcomes in several cases.

These included the arrest of a suspect in connection with the murder of a state witness, a business owner who pleaded guilty to defrauding the Covid-19 TERS scheme, and a Swartruggens drug lab bust.

The Hawks were also involved in a case of a police constable who was due to appear in court for extortion and defeating the ends of justice.

This has resulted in a situation where scams like pyramid schemes and Ponzis operate in South Africa with impunity until they inevitably get liquidated by disgruntled “investors”.

While the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) regularly issues warnings about various get-rich-quick schemes in South Africa, this has not stemmed the tide.

Many in law enforcement and at South Africa’s regulators also believe that most of the victims of these multiplication schemes knew full well what they were getting into.

Since the damage victims suffer is perceived as self-inflicted, many other crimes, including other financial crimes, are given higher priority.

However, that does not mean those crimes are solved at any speed either. The most infamous examples of this have been the Steinhoff case and the State Capture allegations against the Guptas.

Private prosecution by liquidation

Clynton Marks at the Cullinan Magistrate’s Court on 12 March 2025
Currently, the only redress victims of these scams can hope to see in South Africa is whatever cowboy justice is meted out during a liquidation, but that comes at a cost.

A cottage industry has sprung up in South Africa around liquidating illegal investment schemes. The work has proven extremely lucrative for small law firms that win a slice of the pie.

Mirror Trading International has been a true golden goose for the people attached to the estate, as it started with R1.06 billion in the bank.

This was thanks to MTI’s former brokerage, FXChoice, freezing 1,281 bitcoins in June 2020 after detecting suspicious activity on the account and conducting an internal investigation.

The first official warning about MTI, issued by the Texas Securities Commission, only came out about a month later.

Thanks to FXChoice’s swift action and the timing of MTI’s liquidation, the liquidators banked R1,057,932,714 by selling the repatriated bitcoins through Luno.

As at 18 February 2026, only R588.5 million remained in the estate, down from the R637 million that was in its accounts in June 2024.

Asked how much money they had recovered outside the initial R1.06 billion repatriated from the Belizean broker FXChoice, the liquidators pointed to a circular to creditors from last year.

They said they had added approximately R15 million to that previously disclosed settlement amount. Therefore, in total, the liquidators had clawed back R178 million across more than 690 settlements.

“A total of R22,555,728.00 has been collected internationally in seven jurisdictions in terms of approximately 52 settlements reached,” the circular stated.

According to court documents, there was a single settlement of R113 million, accounting for 63% of all funds the liquidators clawed back.

With R588 million remaining in the estate, and considering the additional R178 million recovered and R120.4 million liquidators’ fee claimed in 2023, that means the liquidators have spent R527.1 million.

That money has paid for actions against so-called “net winners”, including Section 417/418 enquiries, which have led to some individuals being detained for failing to provide answers that satisfied the judge.

MTI’s liquidators are also currently pursuing claims against perpetrators and victims of the scheme alike in South Africa and around the world.

While this will probably recover more money for the estate, it will likely not exceed the amount the liquidators spent on legal fees globally.

Source: https://mybroadband.co.za/news/columns/650219-r6-5-billion-stolen-from-south-africans-in-fraudulent-scheme-and-nobody-is-behind-bars.html