MTI Liquidators Face 9,441 Claims as $35.8M Estate Shrinks Before Payouts

Shrinking Assets and Rising Legal Costs

Liquidators overseeing the illness of Mirror Trading International (MTI), erstwhile described arsenic South Africa’s largest pyramid scheme, person received 9,441 claims totaling astir $395 cardinal (6.5 cardinal rands), according to the latest figures released by ineligible representatives. Despite the monolithic volume of claims, the estate’s disposable funds person continued to shrink.

As of Feb. 18, 2026, lone $35.8 cardinal remained successful the estate, a alteration from the $38.75 cardinal reported successful June 2024. According to a report, liquidators property the drain to important costs associated with pursuing planetary betterment efforts crossed the United States, Canada, Europe, Singapore and Australia.

The liquidators precocious corrected earlier tribunal filings regarding the fig of creditors progressive successful the collapse. While archetypal documents filed successful the Singapore High Court suggested astir 304,044 creditors, officials clarified that this fig represents the full fig of registered users. Many of these users are considered “debtors” alternatively than victims, arsenic they were “class 3 investors” who turned a nett earlier the scheme’s demise.

The strategy collapsed successful December 2020 aft CEO Johann Steynberg disappeared portion traveling successful Brazil. Steynberg was arrested successful 2021 for utilizing a mendacious individuality and is believed to person died successful April 2024 portion nether location apprehension awaiting extradition. The bulk of the existent property was secured done what liquidators described arsenic sheer luck alternatively than investigative recovery.

In June 2020, the Belizean brokerage FXChoice froze 1,281 bitcoins aft flagging suspicious activity. The consequent merchantability of these assets generated astir $57.2 cardinal for the estate. Since then, betterment efforts person yielded much humble results. Liquidators person clawed backmost astir $10.8 cardinal crossed much than 690 settlements. A azygous large colony accounted for $6.87 cardinal of that total, portion the remaining settlements averaged conscionable implicit $5,700 each.

Financial records bespeak that liquidators person spent astir $32 cardinal connected ineligible fees and planetary betterment operations. This includes a $7.32 cardinal interest claimed by liquidators successful 2023. The probe and objection process for the thousands of pending claims is acceptable to statesman shortly. Officials warned that the last worth of valid claims is expected to alteration arsenic they weed retired fraudulent filings and those from investors who already profited from the scheme.