After signalling its intent to serve Johannes Steynberg by way of the Hague Conference final month, the CFTC has now requested for permission to impact alternate service.
If granted, the CFTC will serve Steynberg through a Texas newspaper and the Supreme Court docket of Texas’ web site.
Johannes Steynberg is CEO of Mirror Buying and selling Worldwide (MTI).
MTI is a collapsed Ponzi scheme, believed to be run by Clynton and Cheri Marks (proper).
Each Steynberg and the Marks are South African nationals.
Following MTI’s collapse in late 2020, Steynberg fled to Brazil.
Brazilian authorities arrested Steynberg on a world warrant in December 2021.
Pending extradition Steynberg is believed to have been held in custody at Complexo Prisional de Aparecida de Goiânia, a jail within the Brazilian state of Goiás.
It’s anticipated Steynberg will probably be ultimately extradited to South Africa. A possible spanner within the works is pending prison fees in opposition to Steynberg within the US.
Such to the extent any fees exist, Steynberg’s extradition proceedings have to this point been shrouded in secrecy.
The CFTC’s case in opposition to Steynberg alleges MTI was a $1.7 billion Ponzi scheme. It ought to be famous the CFTC’s regulatory case is civil in nature, that means it has no bearing on Steynberg’s extradition proceedings.
To ensure that the CFTC’s case in opposition to Steynberg to proceed, the regulator must execute service. Because the case was filed in July 2022, this has confirmed problematic.
The CFTC has to this point tried to serve Steynberg through
- electronic mail –> no response;
- his Brazilian attorneys –> no response;
- MTI’s South African attorneys –> “We stopped representing the Ponzi after it collapsed in 2020”; and
- the Brazilian SEC –> “We don’t wish to become involved till Public Prosecutors are completed reviewing the case”
After initially contemplating it, the CFTC has now dominated out Hague Conference service as a result of
these processes might take so long as a 12 months to finish, including appreciable delay to those proceedings and denying defrauded individuals the reduction sought herein.
On September 1st the CFTC moved for permission to serve Steynberg through a discover within the Austin America-Statesman newspaper, and on the Supreme Court docket of Texas’ web site.
Whereas the prospect of Steynberg seeing both of those notices is slim to none, if granted and adopted by way of, the courtroom will think about service on Steynberg to be passable.
At time of publication a choice on the CFTC’s movement stays pending.
One different attention-grabbing tidbit the CFTC addresses is the potential for South African liquidation proceedings interfering with the CFTC’s case.
That is based mostly on a South African courtroom order, a part of liquidation proceedings, staying paralell proceedings in opposition to Steynberg.
To the extent there’s a South African order staying all proceedings in opposition to Steynberg, such an order shouldn’t be entitled to full religion and credit score underneath the U.S. Structure and has no pressure and impact on these proceedings except the Court docket acknowledges the validity of and offers impact to the order.
To the extent a South African keep order is relevant right here and akin to an computerized keep arising from a defendant’s chapter petition, the CFTC’s prosecution of its civil fraud motion in opposition to Defendants would fall inside the governmental unit exception to guard the general public from fraud.
Civil liquidation proceedings in South Africa have to this point been nothing however a waste of time and assets.
It’s broadly believed, myself included, that except Steynberg is extradited to the US then justice will go unserved.
On the cash aspect of issues; Whereas the CFTC’s proceedings in opposition to Steynberg are definitely sophisticated, progress is a minimum of being made.
Nearly all of the $1.7 billion MTI took in went to insiders just like the Marks crime household. And this isn’t even their first Ponzi; Cheri Marks was behind BTC International, an $80 million plus Ponzi that collapsed in 2018.
The Marks crime household and different MTI insiders stay at giant in South Africa. Thus far authorities have taken no restoration motion.
Moreover particulars of South African prison proceedings in opposition to Steynberg, that led to the worldwide arrest warrant, haven’t been made public.
