Bad news for kingpin of biggest pyramid scheme in South African history By Jan Vermeulen

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2025-03-12 at 17:19 #463692

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Bad news for kingpin of biggest pyramid scheme in South African history

By Jan Vermeulen

Clynton Marks, one of the highest-ranking members in the collapsed Mirror Trading International (MTI) pyramid scheme, could be detained almost indefinitely under section 66 of the Insolvency Act.

This is according to several sources with an intimate understanding of the matter, including two legal experts. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

Magistrate Petro Engelbrecht issued the warrant for Marks’ arrest after repeatedly warning him that his answers were not satisfactory and would lead to his arrest.

Engelbrecht is the officer appointed to preside over the Section 417/418 liquidation enquiry convened to find out what happened in MTI.

Despite her warnings, Marks was arrested on Friday, 7 March 2025, for failing to adequately answer questions about what happened to funds he withdrew from MTI.

MTI was the biggest pyramid scheme ever operated in South Africa. Even using the most conservative estimates for the scheme’s value at the time of its collapse, at least R14.7 billion worth of bitcoin flowed through it.

It launched in 2019 and ultimately drew in members worldwide by promising outlandish monthly returns and offering ways for members to earn substantial bonuses by recruiting more people into the scheme.

MTI made headlines in September 2020 when a group calling itself Anonymous ZA exploited vulnerabilities in the scheme’s poorly-coded website.

Together with a MyBroadband investigative journalist and community members, the group exposed the inner workings of MTI.

The leaked data showed that Marks occupied two of the topmost positions of MTI’s pyramid. Curiously, he appeared to be higher up than the founder and CEO Johann Steynberg, now presumed dead.

Steynberg was declared deceased by Brazilian authorities in 2024 after apparently suffering a pulmonary thromboembolism.

MTI’s liquidators said Marks was among the top three investors in MTI, having deposited approximately 22 bitcoins.

According to their investigation, he pocketed a tidy profit, withdrawing 220 bitcoins before the scheme collapsed, worth roughly R74.9 million on the day MTI was liquidated.

“All of his so-called profit and returns accrued to him within the scheme from bitcoin subsequently invested by others, and his riches resulted to the detriment of the losers,” the liquidator alleged.

They said Marks milked MTI until the very last moment despite knowing of the imminent collapse of the scheme.

“Even if one is to take only the value of bitcoin as at date of liquidation for purposes of comparison and multiply that value with the total amount of bitcoin invested by Mr Marks, his so-called ‘profit’ to the detriment of MTI and the losers, was in excess of R65 million.”

In addition to MTI, Marks was involved in various other multilevel marketing and multiplication schemes, including BTC Global, My Daily Choice, Syntek, and MMM. In 2021, he was served with a summons related to BTC Global.

Until relatively recently, Marks lived in a plush house in Monteith Estate, in Durban North.

However, MyBroadband understands that he moved out following domestic troubles with his former life partner, Cheri Gray (neé Ward).

MTI’s liquidators have since seized that house, several other properties linked to him, and his luxury cars. It is understood that Gray still lives in the house with her children and new partner. Gray did not respond to a request for comment.

Marks was apparently living out of his remaining car somewhere in Johannesburg before he was detained.

Contempt of court

Section 66 of the Insolvency Act gives officers presiding over interrogations in a liquidation the power to hold someone in contempt of court.

It states that a presiding officer may issue a warrant committing someone to prison for failing to cooperate in various ways.

This includes failing to appear, failing to produce any book or document which they were summoned to produce, refusing to be sworn in, refusing to answer any lawful question, or not answering fully and satisfactorily.

“The officer may issue a warrant committing the said person to prison, where he shall be detained until he has undertaken to do what is required of him,” the Act states.

“Any person committed to prison under this section may apply to the Court for his discharge from custody and the Court may order his discharge if it finds that he was wrongfully committed to prison or is being wrongfully detained.”

However, MyBroadband understands that the latter recourse is not really an option for Marks.

Besides being unable to afford an attorney, Engelbrecht gave Marks ample warning and opportunity to comply.

Marks appeared before the enquiry on Wednesday, 5 March 2025, where Engelbrecht warned him that she was ready to issue a warrant for his arrest.

This was the culmination of four years of Marks pleading ignorance and amnesia whenever he was asked where the money that he withdrew from MTI was.

Marks had to return for questioning on Friday, and Engelbrecht said if he continued to not answer the questions put to him, he would be jailed.

Marks maintained his story that he could not account for the money, as his financial affairs were handled by third parties.

Marks comments

When MyBroadband spoke to Marks on Monday, he maintained that he could not remember the details of the transactions.

Marks said he was never good with numbers and that two associates, Don Nkomo and Andrew Caw, executed the transactions on his behalf.

Specifically, he told MyBroadband that Caw invested his funds, while Nkomo handled his withdrawals from MTI.

“I’m doing my best to answer all the questions,” Marks told MyBroadband.

“Unfortunately, my memory doesn’t serve me well trying to remember all these different transactions, and it looks like I’m not allowed to communicate with the people who operated my accounts for me.”

Caw confirmed that Marks was one of Coin Buyers Club’s clients until November 2023, when the entity was permanently closed down due to the implementation of South Africa’s new crypto asset service provider regulations.

“Coin Buyers Club was a Bitcoin brokerage and Bitcoin educator that had been in operation since 2015,” Caw told MyBroadband.

“We helped clients understand Bitcoin then buy, sell, and securely store Bitcoin. We served hundreds of clients over the years.”

Caw said the MTI liquidators subpoenaed him and he provided them with all Coin Buyers Club’s records and transaction history to help in their investigations.

Nkomo declined to comment.

Worse news if contempt becomes perjury

Under Section 139 of the Insolvency Act, Marks could be looking at further prison time if it emerges that he was lying under oath.

“Any person shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding R500 or to imprisonment without the option of a fine for a period not exceeding six months if he is guilty of an act or omission for which he has been or might have been lawfully committed to prison in terms of… section 66,” it states.

“Any person shall be guilty of an offence and liable to the punishment provided by law for the crime of perjury, if, when being interrogated on oath under this Act, he wilfully makes, relative to the subject in connection wherewith he is interrogated, any statement whatever which he knows to be false or which he does not know or believe to be true.”

MyBroadband also understands that holding Marks in police custody is not the last card Engelbrecht has to play.

Marks could actually have been jailed in the Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area, also known as Pretoria Central Prison.

However, he is being kept in the holding cells at Cullinan police station for now to make it easier to transfer him to the Cullinan magistrate’s court, should he wish to speak.

If he continues refusing to provide the information demanded by the enquiry, Marks could very well find himself in a prison where hardened gangsters complained as recently as October that they were being treated like animals.

source:Bad news for kingpin of biggest pyramid scheme in South African history – MyBroadband
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Bad news for kingpin of biggest pyramid scheme in South African history

By Jan Vermeulen

Clynton Marks, one of the highest-ranking members in the collapsed Mirror Trading International (MTI) pyramid scheme, could be detained almost indefinitely under section 66 of the Insolvency Act.

This is according to several sources with an intimate understanding of the matter, including two legal experts. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

Magistrate Petro Engelbrecht issued the warrant for Marks’ arrest after repeatedly warning him that his answers were not satisfactory and would lead to his arrest.

Engelbrecht is the officer appointed to preside over the Section 417/418 liquidation enquiry convened to find out what happened in MTI.

Despite her warnings, Marks was arrested on Friday, 7 March 2025, for failing to adequately answer questions about what happened to funds he withdrew from MTI.

MTI was the biggest pyramid scheme ever operated in South Africa. Even using the most conservative estimates for the scheme’s value at the time of its collapse, at least R14.7 billion worth of bitcoin flowed through it.

It launched in 2019 and ultimately drew in members worldwide by promising outlandish monthly returns and offering ways for members to earn substantial bonuses by recruiting more people into the scheme.

MTI made headlines in September 2020 when a group calling itself Anonymous ZA exploited vulnerabilities in the scheme’s poorly-coded website.

Together with a MyBroadband investigative journalist and community members, the group exposed the inner workings of MTI.

The leaked data showed that Marks occupied two of the topmost positions of MTI’s pyramid. Curiously, he appeared to be higher up than the founder and CEO Johann Steynberg, now presumed dead.

Steynberg was declared deceased by Brazilian authorities in 2024 after apparently suffering a pulmonary thromboembolism.

MTI’s liquidators said Marks was among the top three investors in MTI, having deposited approximately 22 bitcoins.

According to their investigation, he pocketed a tidy profit, withdrawing 220 bitcoins before the scheme collapsed, worth roughly R74.9 million on the day MTI was liquidated.

“All of his so-called profit and returns accrued to him within the scheme from bitcoin subsequently invested by others, and his riches resulted to the detriment of the losers,” the liquidator alleged.

They said Marks milked MTI until the very last moment despite knowing of the imminent collapse of the scheme.

“Even if one is to take only the value of bitcoin as at date of liquidation for purposes of comparison and multiply that value with the total amount of bitcoin invested by Mr Marks, his so-called ‘profit’ to the detriment of MTI and the losers, was in excess of R65 million.”

In addition to MTI, Marks was involved in various other multilevel marketing and multiplication schemes, including BTC Global, My Daily Choice, Syntek, and MMM. In 2021, he was served with a summons related to BTC Global.

Until relatively recently, Marks lived in a plush house in Monteith Estate, in Durban North.

However, MyBroadband understands that he moved out following domestic troubles with his former life partner, Cheri Gray (neé Ward).

MTI’s liquidators have since seized that house, several other properties linked to him, and his luxury cars. It is understood that Gray still lives in the house with her children and new partner. Gray did not respond to a request for comment.

Marks was apparently living out of his remaining car somewhere in Johannesburg before he was detained.

Contempt of court

Section 66 of the Insolvency Act gives officers presiding over interrogations in a liquidation the power to hold someone in contempt of court.

It states that a presiding officer may issue a warrant committing someone to prison for failing to cooperate in various ways.

This includes failing to appear, failing to produce any book or document which they were summoned to produce, refusing to be sworn in, refusing to answer any lawful question, or not answering fully and satisfactorily.

“The officer may issue a warrant committing the said person to prison, where he shall be detained until he has undertaken to do what is required of him,” the Act states.

“Any person committed to prison under this section may apply to the Court for his discharge from custody and the Court may order his discharge if it finds that he was wrongfully committed to prison or is being wrongfully detained.”

However, MyBroadband understands that the latter recourse is not really an option for Marks.

Besides being unable to afford an attorney, Engelbrecht gave Marks ample warning and opportunity to comply.

Marks appeared before the enquiry on Wednesday, 5 March 2025, where Engelbrecht warned him that she was ready to issue a warrant for his arrest.

This was the culmination of four years of Marks pleading ignorance and amnesia whenever he was asked where the money that he withdrew from MTI was.

Marks had to return for questioning on Friday, and Engelbrecht said if he continued to not answer the questions put to him, he would be jailed.

Marks maintained his story that he could not account for the money, as his financial affairs were handled by third parties.

Marks comments

When MyBroadband spoke to Marks on Monday, he maintained that he could not remember the details of the transactions.

Marks said he was never good with numbers and that two associates, Don Nkomo and Andrew Caw, executed the transactions on his behalf.

Specifically, he told MyBroadband that Caw invested his funds, while Nkomo handled his withdrawals from MTI.

“I’m doing my best to answer all the questions,” Marks told MyBroadband.

“Unfortunately, my memory doesn’t serve me well trying to remember all these different transactions, and it looks like I’m not allowed to communicate with the people who operated my accounts for me.”

Caw confirmed that Marks was one of Coin Buyers Club’s clients until November 2023, when the entity was permanently closed down due to the implementation of South Africa’s new crypto asset service provider regulations.

“Coin Buyers Club was a Bitcoin brokerage and Bitcoin educator that had been in operation since 2015,” Caw told MyBroadband.

“We helped clients understand Bitcoin then buy, sell, and securely store Bitcoin. We served hundreds of clients over the years.”

Caw said the MTI liquidators subpoenaed him and he provided them with all Coin Buyers Club’s records and transaction history to help in their investigations.

Nkomo declined to comment.

Worse news if contempt becomes perjury

Under Section 139 of the Insolvency Act, Marks could be looking at further prison time if it emerges that he was lying under oath.

MyBroadband also understands that holding Marks in police custody is not the last card Engelbrecht has to play.

Marks could actually have been jailed in the Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area, also known as Pretoria Central Prison.

However, he is being kept in the holding cells at Cullinan police station for now to make it easier to transfer him to the Cullinan magistrate’s court, should he wish to speak.

If he continues refusing to provide the information demanded by the enquiry, Marks could very well find himself in a prison where hardened gangsters complained as recently as October that they were being treated like animals.