South African CEO Declared Bankrupt After $13M Cryptocurrency Scam

Alleged bitcoin and cryptocurrency scammer Willie Breedt has been declared bankrupt after going on the run for several months. 

According to a report by News24, Breedt was the chief executive of now-defunct company Vaultage, which allegedly scammed more than 2,000 investors out of their cryptocurrency investments. The report claims the victims stand to lose around R227 million ($13.3 million) as a result of Breedt’s insolvency. 

Breedt went into hiding two weeks ago after a group of irate investors, reportedly led by a colonel in the South African National Defence Force, attempted to corral the former executive through “debt collectors.”

Following a court-ordered sequestration imposed by a former investor, local authorities and a team of specialist cryptocurrency forensic investigators raided a house in Silver Lakes where Breedt had been hiding since mid-June. The report claims numerous electronic devices, including a laptop and nano stick, were confiscated during the raid. 

Breedt’s former investors are hopeful that the nano stick may contain information on the whereabouts of their missing bitcoin and crypto-assets. 

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