Willie Breedt, the alleged bitcoin and cryptocurrency scammer, has been declared bankrupt.

News24 earlier reported around 2 000 investors in Breedt’s defunct company, VaultAge Solutions (VS), stand to lose around R227 million after promises by Breedt to pay out their investments and growth were not honoured.

On Friday, one of the biggest investors, who entrusted R7.5 million to Breedt, Simon Dix from Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, successfully applied for a sequestration order against Breedt.

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria granted the order to Dix.

READ | Investors heading to High Court after cryptocurrency CEO fails to pay back millions

In January, Breedt moved from Krugersdorp in Gauteng to the luxury Marina Martinique Estate in Aston Bay near Jeffreys Bay.

Two weeks ago, he hurriedly went into hiding after some irate investors, allegedly led by a colonel in the South African National Defence Force, called in the services of a group of “debt collectors” to find Breedt and recover their money from him.

He opened a case of intimidation with police in Jeffreys Bay just before disappearing.

*Article appeared on Crime News 24