South African Bitcoin trading company, BitCaw Trading also known as BTC Global has allegedly stolen from investors and are being pursued by the South African Police.

According to the statement by the South African police, over 28,000 investors have lost money in the total of over 1 billion Rand which is equal to $80.4 million.

The South African Police’s ‘The Hawks’ are in charge of the investigation. The Hawks are an investigative unit of South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI).

The Hawks outlined-

“[Targeted members of the public are believed to have been] encouraged by BTC Global agents to invest with promises of 2% interest per day, 14% per week and ultimately 50% per month. Payments were allegedly made every Monday. Some of the investors got paid in terms of the agreement. However, the payments suddenly stopped.”

Investors were warned last year itself by the marketing agency SEO Spark. It had declared BitCaw Trading to be a Ponzi scheme after analyzing promises such as a 4% referral program.

Neither BitCaw Trading nor BTC Global is stating their involvement. Both the companies are playing the blame game. BitCaw Trading is blaming BTC Global by saying “BitCaw Trading […] do[es] not manage third-party money or offer any kind of investment […] We are shocked to see our name connected with [the alleged scam].”

While BTC Global has blamed an admin member by the name of Steve Twain releasing on their website, “We are as shocked and angry as everyone. But we all knew the risks involved in placing funds with Steven. We all became complacent with Steven. And all of us funded him independently. Until Steven Twain resurfaces or is found there is nothing the admin team can do…”

Everything looked great, with payments being made every Monday however the payments suddenly stopped.

Acting National Head of the DPCI Lieutenant General Yolisa Matakata warned,

“This may prove to be the tip of the iceberg with potentially thousands more yet to discover they’ve lost money. This is a timely reminder that unregulated, unusual investments at home or abroad come with a high risk that people could lose all their hard-earned pension and other savings. Despite the setback, we want to assure the affected individuals that we are investigating the matter but due to the large volumes, it will take time to conclude.”

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