Mirror Trading International to Pay $1.7 Billion in Restitution to Bitcoin Investment Fraud Victims
Date: 2023-09-09 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BLOCKCHAIN, IN WORLD
On September 7, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the results of a case against a South African company that violated the cryptocurrency fraud law.
According to the CFTC, a judge ruled in favor of Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited (MTI), finding the company liable for several types of fraud. As a result of this order, the company is committed to paying compensation to its many victims.
According to the CFTC, MTI offered an investment opportunity in which it advertised trading analytics software using Bitcoin as its base currency.
The company and its CEO, Cornelius Johannes Steinberg, are instead using a multi-level marketing scheme, according to the statement. MTI began soliciting bitcoins from investors and said that in return it would be given the opportunity to participate in an unregistered commodity pool. Even if this pool were present and the trading activity did not use a proprietary "bot" or software, according to the company's statements. At the same time, the company and the manager directly or indirectly appropriated the funds of the pool participants.
According to the CFTC, MTI convinced investors to deposit a total of 29,421 BTC - an amount that at one point was worth more than $1.7 billion. The company has received funds from 23,000 people worldwide, including the United States.
In total, victims will receive about $1.7 billion.
The latest court ruling requires MTI to pay investors more than $1.7 billion in restitution to fraud victims. The court order prohibits MIT from violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA); it further prohibits the company from trading on the CFTC markets and imposes a ban on the firm's registration.
In April, a default judgment was entered against Steinberg, requiring the executive branch to pay more than $1.7 billion in restitution and a civil monetary penalty of about $1 billion more. It is not clear how Steinberg's personal penalties are affected by the $1.7 billion from MTI that is owed. pay.
MTI is currently in the process of liquidation and its website is not operational. Other characteristics of the company suggest that it paid its subordinates in Bitcoin for their work. But the CFTC did not comment on this in any way other than the accusation of misappropriation of funds.
