BUSINESS NEWS - A clearer picture is emerging of the Mirror Trading International (MTI) scam that swindled tens of thousands of people around the world of their bitcoin (BTC) almost a year ago.
MTI was placed in provisional liquidation in December 2020, and final liquidation in July this year, when it was disclosed that liquidators had recovered 1,281 BTC from Belize-based broker FXChoice. A total of R1.05 billion was recovered from the sale of this BTC.
The latest report by the liquidators published last week shows ‘possible debtors’ of R2.07 billion.
The final liquidators – appointed by the Master of the High Court on 5 November – are Riaan van Rooyen (Investrust Insolvency Practitioners), Herman Bester (Tygerberg Trustees), Jacolien Barnard (Barn Trust), Deidre Basson (Tshwane Trust), Christopher Roos (Sebenza Trust) and Chavonnes Coopers (CK Trust).
Preliminary investigations show total assets of about R3.1 billion, though further investigation is required to firm up the figures.
JNX Online
In their hunt for assets belonging to the estate of MTI, the liquidators successfully brought an application for the liquidation of JNX Online, a company controlled by former MTI CEO Johann Steynberg and his wife Nerina.
The report says the liquidators are currently investigating the assets and affairs of JNX Online and will report back to creditors in due course.
It seems JNX Online was used by Steynberg to buy and sell BTC and to pay creditors and employees of MTI.
The bank statements of JNX Online reflect monthly payments totalling R933,000 made to Steynberg’s wife.
She testified at the Section 417 enquiry that JNX Online did not owe her this money and she considered this to be a contribution by her husband to the household expenses.
Steynberg was sequestrated and a company called Dulospan, which he used to acquire three immovable properties worth R6.5 million, was collapsed into his insolvent estate.
Nerina Steynberg and a friend agreed to transfer cryptocurrency worth R2.1 million into a wallet opened by the trustees of the insolvent estate. The liquidators say legal action is required to interrogate potentially fabricated claims by employees and suppliers of MTI.
Most MTI managers and heads of department received excessive remuneration packages and, from about October 2020, an additional BTC per person per month.
Crypto specialists have been appointed to assist in quantifying and identifying claims from the information obtained from MTI’s back-office platform known as Maxtra Technologies that was run out of India.
