Man behind 29,000 Bitcoin Ponzi Scam Arrested in Brazil

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Johann Steynberg, a South African known to lead the multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International (MTI), was recently arrested in Brazil.

It would be another large-scale arrest for the country. A few months ago, Claudio Oliveira of the Bitcoin Banco group was also put behind bars for the disappearance of 7,000 Bitcoin from his investors in 2019.

Brazil scores another point against crypto scams

Johann Steynberg has successfully defrauded thousands of people around the world after he created a Ponzi scheme and promised returns of up to 10%. According to preliminary estimates, more than 29,000 bitcoins have been stolen by Steynberg’s company.

Johann Steynberg was arrested in Goinia, the capital of the Brazilian state of Gois. According to an official press release from the government of Gois, the arrest was carried out through coordination between local forces, the Brazilian federal police and Interpol.

Apparently, Brazilian law enforcement has received reports that Johann Steynberg is in the country after escaping South Africa in 2020 following the collapse of the Mirror Trading International platform.

According to the commander of the Rapid Intervention Group, Raimundo Coelho Pinto Jnior, the intelligence work took about a month. After this period, the police succeeded in locating Johann Steynberg, seizing several false identities, electronic equipment, several notes containing useful information, credit cards, laptops and other valuables.

“Our police officers started to make a thorough search of the suspect and after an intense work carried out for about a month, it was possible to identify and raise the subject… The Federal Police and Interpol [unit in Braslia] were already aware of our investigation. So we took the approach, the subject was presented to the PF Superintendent for the execution of the international arrest warrant and prosecution for forgery.

The criminal was apprehended and put behind bars on a preliminary basis on charges of using false documents.

How the Ponzi scheme worked

Mirror Trading International (MTI) touted itself as an investment platform that promised high returns as users put more money into it.

The platform was founded in South Africa in 2019 and promised guaranteed returns of around 10% per month. At its peak, it had 170,000 clients worldwide with over $ 1 billion in assets under management.

When customers began to report that MTI had frozen their balances, authorities launched investigations following repeated complaints. Johann Steynberg disappeared shortly after, triggering an Interpol alert.

Brazilian authorities and Interpol arrested Steynberg on New Year’s Eve.

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