The FBI has added Ruja Ignatova, known as the “crypto Queen,” to its list of the Ten Most Wanted Suspects for allegedly defrauding millions of people into investing at least $4 billion in the cryptocurrency OneCoin.
OneCoin was introduced by Ignatova in 2014 with the stated goal of dethroning Bitcoin as the most popular virtual currency worldwide.
OneCoin was introduced by Ignatova in 2014 with the stated goal of dethroning Bitcoin as the most popular virtual currency worldwide. OneCoin was active around the world, including the US, and once reported having at least three million investors.
Ignatova, who was 42, had a distinguished background; according to reports, she had studied law at Oxford and worked for McKinsey.
She and her accomplices made at least $3.4 billion and possibly over $4 billion from the third quarter of 2016 to the fourth quarter of 2014 by using a global. However, the coin had no real value and could not be used to purchase anything.
OneCoin was not supported by any secure, independent blockchain-type technology, as other cryptocurrencies are, according to the AFP news agency.
The agency said, quoting an official, that OneCoin was a typical Ponzi scam in which early investors are enticed to recruit others, and who is subsequently compensated with proceeds from later investors.
In 2017, when international investigators were getting near to Ignatova’s gang, she vanished. On October 25, 2017, she flew from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, but she hasn’t been seen since.
In 2019, the US unveiled an indictment against her, accusing her of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiring to launder money.
Ignatova was added to Europol’s most-wanted list on May 11, and the agency announced a reward of 5,000 euros ($5,200) for information leading to her whereabouts.
In a settlement with US officials, her brother Konstantin Ignatov admitted guilt to wire fraud after being detained in March 2019 at the Los Angeles International Airport.
Sebastian Greenwood, a different companion, was taken into custody in Thailand in 2018 and then transferred to the US, where he is now incarcerated while awaiting prosecution.
In November 2019, US attorney Mark Scott, another conspirator, was found guilty of helping the conspiracy launder $400 million.
