Critical risk level Prosecuted

Mirror Trading International

South African bitcoin "forex trading pool" that took over $1.7 billion in bitcoin; the CFTC obtained the largest civil monetary penalty in its history against its chief executive.

Also known as: MTI, Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited

Type of scam

Fake Investment or Trading Platform

Jurisdiction

South Africa / United States

First reported

May 2018

Last known activity

Mar 2021

How this operation works

Mirror Trading International solicited bitcoin from the public to participate in what was described as a foreign currency trading pool run by a proprietary "bot", with returns reported to members through a daily dashboard. Participation was sold through a multi-level marketing structure paying commission on recruitment. The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action on 30 June 2022 in the Western District of Texas against MTI and its chief executive Cornelius Johannes Steynberg, alleging that from approximately May 2018 to March 2021 he operated a fraudulent multilevel marketing scheme, accepting only bitcoin, and took in participations worth over $1,733,838,372. The CFTC describes it as the largest fraudulent scheme involving bitcoin charged in any of its cases. A default judgment and permanent injunction was entered in April 2023 requiring Steynberg to pay $1,733,838,372 in restitution and a civil monetary penalty of the same amount — the highest civil monetary penalty ordered in any CFTC case. A separate order required the company to pay over $1.7 billion in restitution. MTI entered liquidation in South Africa, where liquidators have pursued recovery of bitcoin paid out to members. Steynberg was detained in Brazil in December 2021.

Warning signs people reported

A proprietary trading "bot" as the stated source of returns, with no verifiable track record
Deposits accepted only in bitcoin
Daily returns reported on an internal dashboard with no third-party custodian or audit
Multi-level commission for recruiting new members
Registered and operating without any licence for pooled trading or asset management

Other identifiers

Company registration

Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited (Operating entity (South Africa, in liquidation))

What this operation claims about itself

Recorded as claimed. The licence check below is what we were able to verify.

Company name given: Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited
Regulator named: None — operated without registration

Licence check

No licence on record

The CFTC charged both fraud and registration violations: neither MTI nor Steynberg was registered as a commodity pool operator or associated person as required.

Official warnings

Have you lost money to this operation?

File a claim and we will assess what recovery routes are realistically open to you. We will tell you plainly if we do not think recovery is achievable.

File a claim

Other operations of this type

Critical

Morocoin, Berge Blockchain and Cirkor

Three purported crypto trading platforms and four "investment clubs" charged by the SEC in...

Is this entry about you?

Entries are compiled from reports made to us and from public regulator notices. If you believe an entry is inaccurate, contact us with supporting evidence and we will review it.