US State Department Announces Reward for Missing “Crypto Queen” Ruja Ignatova
Date: 2024-06-27 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
New 5 Million Dollar Reward
The US State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Ruja Ignatova, known as the “crypto queen”. The founder of the OneCoin Ponzi scheme disappeared in Athens in 2017 after her fraudulent activities were discovered.
The new reward announced Wednesday substantially increases the previous $250,000 offered by the FBI. In 2022, Ignatova was included on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
Accusations in Native Bulgaria
Bulgarian authorities also said that Ignatova will be charged in absentia for her role in the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The OneCoin scheme created by Ignatova defrauded investors around the world of approximately $4 billion from 2014 to 2017.
OneCoin solicited investment through a network of promoters, promising significant returns on tokens that in fact had no real value. OneCoin did not exist on any blockchain, and its value was manipulated by Ignatova and her team by automatically creating new coins.
Largest Fraud Scheme
The US State Department has named OneCoin one of the largest global fraud schemes in history. In addition to the charges in Bulgaria, Ignatova, a German citizen, is also accused of crimes in the United States, Germany and India.
Several of Ignatova's former accomplices were sentenced to prison. OneCoin co-founder Carl Greenwood received 20 years in prison and confiscation of property worth $300 million. Bulgarian lawyer Irina Dilkinska was sentenced to four years in prison, and American lawyer Mark Scott received 10 years in prison.
Disappearance of Ignatova
Ignatova disappeared after being charged in the US in 2017 and was last seen on a flight from Sofia to Athens. The FBI speculated that she may have changed her appearance through plastic surgery and traveled on a German passport to the Middle East or Eastern Europe.
Rumors of Death
There is a version that Ignatova could have been killed. In 2023, Bulgarian media reported that in 2018 Ignatova was killed and dismembered on a yacht in the Ionian Sea on the orders of a Bulgarian drug lord known as "Taki". However, this information has not been verified.
The US State Department's offer of a reward for information on the whereabouts of Ruja Ignatova highlights the seriousness of her crimes and the scale of the OneCoin scam. The introduction of such a large reward shows the determination of the authorities to find and bring to justice the “crypto queen”, despite her successful evasion of justice for several years.
The US State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Ruja Ignatova, known as the “crypto queen”. The founder of the OneCoin Ponzi scheme disappeared in Athens in 2017 after her fraudulent activities were discovered.
The new reward announced Wednesday substantially increases the previous $250,000 offered by the FBI. In 2022, Ignatova was included on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
Accusations in Native Bulgaria
Bulgarian authorities also said that Ignatova will be charged in absentia for her role in the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The OneCoin scheme created by Ignatova defrauded investors around the world of approximately $4 billion from 2014 to 2017.
OneCoin solicited investment through a network of promoters, promising significant returns on tokens that in fact had no real value. OneCoin did not exist on any blockchain, and its value was manipulated by Ignatova and her team by automatically creating new coins.
Largest Fraud Scheme
The US State Department has named OneCoin one of the largest global fraud schemes in history. In addition to the charges in Bulgaria, Ignatova, a German citizen, is also accused of crimes in the United States, Germany and India.
Several of Ignatova's former accomplices were sentenced to prison. OneCoin co-founder Carl Greenwood received 20 years in prison and confiscation of property worth $300 million. Bulgarian lawyer Irina Dilkinska was sentenced to four years in prison, and American lawyer Mark Scott received 10 years in prison.
Disappearance of Ignatova
Ignatova disappeared after being charged in the US in 2017 and was last seen on a flight from Sofia to Athens. The FBI speculated that she may have changed her appearance through plastic surgery and traveled on a German passport to the Middle East or Eastern Europe.
Rumors of Death
There is a version that Ignatova could have been killed. In 2023, Bulgarian media reported that in 2018 Ignatova was killed and dismembered on a yacht in the Ionian Sea on the orders of a Bulgarian drug lord known as "Taki". However, this information has not been verified.
The US State Department's offer of a reward for information on the whereabouts of Ruja Ignatova highlights the seriousness of her crimes and the scale of the OneCoin scam. The introduction of such a large reward shows the determination of the authorities to find and bring to justice the “crypto queen”, despite her successful evasion of justice for several years.
