Metaverse Foreign Exchange (MTFE) a Ponzi scheme that collected funds, claiming to be a trading platform that uses AI bots to automate cryptocurrency trade defrauded over a billion USD, mainly from investors in Africa and South Asia The scheme used a system that rewarded users for recruiting more under them and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka had warned it to be a pyramid scheme. In reality, MTFE did not actually carry out trades, and the bot simply fabricated profits and losses to give the appearance of a legitimate platform. When the scheme finally collapsed, all accounts were programmed to show fake negative balances. In 2026, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka officially declared it a prohibited pyramid scheme.
History The MTFE Group began aggressively recruting around 2022, promising unrealistically high returns. It claimed to be registered in Canada as a money service business with MSB No. M22076570, and also regulated by FINTRAC. However, the Canadian’s Ontario Security Commission issued a warning in 30 June 2023 stating that the company was not authorised to engage in the trading of securities.
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