The U . s . States Commodity Futures Buying and selling Commission, or CFTC, has had enforcement action against a South African national with what the regulatory body known as its “largest fraudulent plan involving Bitcoin.”
Inside a Thursday announcement, the CFTC stated it’d filed a civil enforcement action in federal court for fraud and registration violations against Cornelius Johannes Steynberg. The South African national allegedly produced and operated a worldwide forex commodity pool totaling greater than $1.7 billion, only allowing the participants to pay for using Bitcoin (BTC).
The CFTC alleged that Steynberg used the Nigeria-based firm Mirror Buying and selling Worldwide Proprietary Restricted to solicit BTC in the public using social networking as well as other websites. From May 2018 to March 2021, the regulatory body claimed he recognized a minimum of 29,421 BTC — worth greater than $1.7 billion at that time, but roughly $564 million during the time of publication — including from individuals within the U . s . States.
“The defendants misappropriated, either directly or not directly, all the Bitcoin they recognized in the pool participants,” stated the CFTC. “The CFTC seeks full restitution to defrauded investors, disgorgement of ill-become gains, civil financial penalties, permanent registration and buying and selling bans, along with a permanent injunction against future violations from the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Rules.”
ENFORCEMENT NEWS: CFTC Charges South African Pool Operator and Chief executive officer with $1.7 Billion Fraud Involving Bitcoin. https://t.co/cvNlksPznw
— CFTC (@CFTC) June 30, 2022
Related: The CFTC’s action against Gemini isn’t good news for Bitcoin ETFs
The situation against Steynberg may be the latest in a number of enforcement actions the CFTC has had against individuals allegedly using cryptocurrencies for illicit purposes or digital asset firms for violations from the Commodity Exchange Act. In June, the CFTC filed a suit against Gemini, claiming the crypto exchange made false or misleading statements towards the regulatory body in 2017. A federal court also purchased the founders of crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX to pay $$ 30 million in penalties included in the conclusion of the suit filed through the CFTC in October 2020.
