TLDR
- The U.S. State Department has raised the reward for information on Ruja Ignatova to $5 million.
- Ignatova, known as the “CryptoQueen,” is wanted for her involvement in the $4 billion OneCoin fraud scheme.
- She vanished in 2017 after being charged in the U.S. and was last observed in Athens, Greece.
- OneCoin, established in 2014, was advertised as a “Bitcoin killer” but turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.
- Several of Ignatova’s accomplices have been found guilty and sentenced for their roles in the scam.
The U.S. State Department has increased the reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Ruja Ignatova, the founder of the OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme. This announcement on June 26, 2024, revealed a reward of up to $5 million, a significant spike from the previous $250,000 FBI reward. This move highlights the severity of the charges against the self-proclaimed “CryptoQueen.”
Ignatova, a German-born Bulgarian, is being sought for her involvement in what authorities deem as “one of the most massive global fraud schemes in history.” OneCoin, established in 2014 by Ignatova, allegedly duped investors out of over $4 billion.
The cryptocurrency, OneCoin, was marketed as a serious rival to Bitcoin, with Ignatova and her associates organizing extravagant parties and events in various locations across the globe like Dubai, Macao, Singapore, and the UK.
Nonetheless, court records and investor accounts reveal that OneCoin operated as an intricate Ponzi scheme. The cryptocurrency apparently had no existence on a genuine blockchain, and there were no real mining activities supporting it.
In 2017, the scheme began to unravel when a grand jury in New York indicted Ignatova on several charges including wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. Additional charges of securities fraud conspiracy and securities fraud were added in February 2018.
Just two weeks after the indictment in October 2017, Ignatova boarded a flight from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece. Since then, she has not been seen publicly, making Athens her last known location. Her addition to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List in 2022 underscored the significance of her case.
There have been various speculations on Ignatova’s whereabouts and status since her disappearance. The FBI suggests she might have altered her appearance through plastic surgery and could be using a German passport while traveling in countries like the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece, or Eastern Europe.
Despite unverified reports suggesting her potential demise in 2018, authorities continue to operate under the assumption that she is alive.
While Ignatova remains at large, several of her associates have faced legal consequences. Her brother, Konstantin Ignatov, was apprehended in 2019 at Los Angeles International Airport. Karl Sebastian Greenwood, OneCoin’s co-founder, admitted guilt in a Manhattan federal court in 2022 and received a 20-year prison sentence.
Two attorneys involved in the scheme, Irina Dilkinska and Mark Scott, were sentenced to four and ten years in prison, respectively, earlier in 2024.
The heightened reward is part of the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, promising informant protection to safeguard their identities in risky scenarios.
The OneCoin case has received substantial attention from the public, partly due to the BBC podcast series “The Missing Cryptoqueen,” which debuted in 2019. This podcast and subsequent book have played a role in maintaining public interest in the story and potentially aiding ongoing efforts to find Ignatova.
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