U.S. State Department Ups Reward to $5 Million for Capture of OneCoin Founder Ruja Ignatova
The United States Department of State has escalated its efforts as of June 26, 2024, to locate and apprehend Ruja Ignatova, the founder of OneCoin widely known as the “Cryptoqueen,” who disappeared from Athens in 2017.
Increasing its previous offer substantially, the FBI is now offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Ignatova’s arrest or conviction. She faces charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. These allegations arise from her alleged pivotal role in defrauding investors worldwide of billions of dollars through OneCoin Ltd.
Ignatova, who has been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list since 2022, also faces charges in Bulgaria, where she is indicted in absentia for orchestrating the notorious $4 billion OneCoin crypto Ponzi scheme, which deceived investors globally from 2014 until its collapse in early 2017.
Starting around 2014, Ignatova and her associates allegedly lured investors with false promises and misrepresentations, convincing them to transfer funds to OneCoin accounts for investment packages that turned out to be fraudulent. Estimates suggest that more than $4 billion was unlawfully obtained from victims through this scheme.
Described by the State Department as “one of the largest global fraud schemes in history,” OneCoin has led to criminal proceedings not only in Bulgaria and the United States but also in Germany and India. Several of Ignatova’s former associates have already been sentenced to prison for their involvement in the fraudulent activities.
Despite various unverified reports, including one from Bulgarian media in 2023 speculating her demise, allegedly at the hands of a Bulgarian drug lord, Ignatova remains at large. She vanished shortly after her U.S. indictment, last spotted on a flight from Sofia to Athens. Law enforcement agencies suspect she may have altered her appearance or is utilizing a German passport while evading capture, possibly in the Middle East or Eastern Europe.
In recent legal proceedings, Konstantin Ignatov, brother of Ruja Ignatova and associated with the OneCoin scheme, received a time-served sentence following his cooperation with U.S. prosecutors. He had pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and fraud in 2019, contributing crucial testimony against former lawyer Mark Scott, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison earlier this year.
Judge Edgardo Ramos acknowledged Konstantin’s cooperation in Scott’s trial as a significant factor in his sentencing decision, emphasizing the massive scale of deception perpetrated by the OneCoin scheme, which affected hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide.
