Former OneCoin Legal Head Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Money Laundering
Irina Dilkinska, the former head of legal and compliance at cryptocurrency OneCoin, admitted in Manhattan federal court to helping launder $110 million in illicit profits generated through OneCoin’s global multi-level marketing network. Despite her role overseeing legal and compliance, Dilkinska assisted in running day-to-day operations and failed to ensure the company followed the law. She was charged in March and extradited from Bulgaria to the U.S.
“As OneCoin’s so-called ‘Head of Legal and Compliance’ Irina Dilkinska accomplished the exact opposite goal of her position,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a statement. “As she has now admitted, Dilkinska facilitated the laundering of millions of dollars of illicit profits OneCoin accrued through its multi-level-marketing scheme.”
Dilkinska faces up to five years in prison on each count when she is sentenced in February 2024. She is the latest defendant brought to justice in the ongoing OneCoin case, though ringleader Ruja Ignatova remains at large after disappearing in 2017.
OneCoin: A Multi-Billion Dollar Pyramid Scheme
OneCoin was founded in 2014 by Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who marketed the fraudulent cryptocurrency as a revolutionary digital currency that would overtake Bitcoin. Ignatova, known as the “Cryptoqueen,” and Greenwood launched OneCoin in Sofia, Bulgaria and utilized a global multi-level marketing structure to promote and sell packages tied to the fake cryptocurrency.
From late 2014 to late 2016 alone, OneCoin generated over $4 billion in sales revenue from the approximately 3 million people who invested worldwide. However, there was no real blockchain or cryptocurrency behind OneCoin, and it operated solely to defraud investors out of billions. Ignatova disappeared in 2017 after charges were filed, and Greenwood was arrested in 2018.
Hot Take: Justice for Victims of OneCoin
The guilty plea from Irina Dilkinska is a significant step towards justice for victims of the massive OneCoin fraud scheme. The pyramid-like commission structure used by OneCoin resulted in billions of dollars being defrauded from innocent investors worldwide. With key figures like Dilkinska being held accountable for their roles in perpetrating this scam, it sends a strong message that those involved in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes will face consequences for their actions.
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