FBI lists OneCoin founder as one of 10 most wanted criminals
- July 1, 2022
- 0
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has included Ruja Ignatova, the founder of the OneCoin pyramid, in its list of ten most wanted criminals. This was stated in
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has included Ruja Ignatova, the founder of the OneCoin pyramid, in its list of ten most wanted criminals. This was stated in the office of the federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.
Ruja Ignatova, also known as the ‘queen of crypto’, has been added to the FBI’s Top Ten Fugitives list for allegedly defrauding more than $4 billion in investors through the cryptocurrency company OneCoin. pic.twitter.com/fUL5Dmic46
— U.S. Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) 30 June 2022
According to the statement, Ignatova “allegedly defrauded more than $4 billion of investors through the cryptocurrency company OneCoin.” His whereabouts are unknown since 2017.
“There are so many victims all over the world who suffer financially because of this. We want to bring him to justice,” the message says.
The FBI has offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information about the pyramid scheme’s founder. According to officials, Ignatova has links with Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece and the United Arab Emirates.
Ruja Ignatova co-founded the OneCoin financial pyramid with Sebastian Greenwood in 2014.
The project was initially positioned as a highly profitable cryptocurrency, in which investors profit not only from the growth of the asset, but also to attract new participants.
In November 2019, the Southern District Court of New York found OneCoin attorney Mark Scott guilty of laundering nearly $400 million, Ignatova was charged in absentia in the United States.
In March 2020, Konstantin Ignatov, brother of the founder of OneCoin, was detained at the Los Angeles airport. He subsequently pleaded guilty to several charges and faces up to 90 years in prison.
The US government managed to delay Ignatov’s sentence, saying that cooperation with him was not yet complete.
One of the defendants in the class action lawsuit filed by investors against the organizers of the pyramid was the financial conglomerate Bank of New York Mellon.
In August 2021, Italian authorities charged 14 people linked to OneCoin with aggravated fraud. According to law enforcement, around 11 million euros were processed from local banks in favor of the pyramid.
Recall that in May 2022, Europol included Ruja Ignatova on its list of most wanted criminals and offered a reward of up to 5,000 euros for “important information about her”.
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I’m Sandra Torres, a passionate journalist and content creator. My specialty lies in covering the latest gadgets, trends and tech news for Div Bracket. With over 5 years of experience as a professional writer, I have built up an impressive portfolio of published works that showcase my expertise in this field.
