U.S. State Department Raises Reward to $5M for OneCoin Founder Ruja Ignatova’s Arrest
The US Department of State intensified its efforts on June 26 to capture OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova, also known as the “Cryptoqueen,” who has been missing since she vanished in Athens in 2017.
The FBI is now offering up to $5 million as a reward, up from $250,000 previously, for information contributing to the apprehension or conviction of Ignatova.
US Offers $5 Million Reward for Information Amid Ignatova Global Manhunt
Ignatova faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud. These charges stem from her role in defrauding billions of dollars from investors worldwide through OneCoin Ltd.
Ignatova, who has been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list since 2022, faces an in absentia indictment in Bulgaria for her alleged role in orchestrating the $4 billion OneCoin crypto ponzi scheme. This scheme deceived global investors from 2014 until its collapse in early 2017.
Around 2014, Ignatova and her associates allegedly solicited investments through false statements and misrepresentations. Investors were instructed to transfer funds to OneCoin accounts to purchase investment packages, which led to wire transfers representing these investments. The scheme is believed to have defrauded victims out of more than $4 billion.
The State Department described OneCoin as “one of the largest global fraud schemes in history.” Ignatova, a German national, faces criminal allegations in Bulgaria, the United States, Germany, and India. Several of her former associates have already been sentenced to prison for their involvement in the fraud.
Last year, Karl Greenwood, co-founder of OneCoin, received a 20-year sentence and was ordered to forfeit $300 million. Earlier this year, two of the scheme’s lawyers, Irina Dilkinska and Mark Scott, received four and ten-year prison sentences, respectively.
Ignatova disappeared shortly after being indicted in the US in late 2017, last seen on a flight from Sofia to Athens. The FBI has speculated she may have altered her appearance through plastic surgery or is using a German passport while hiding in the Middle East or Eastern Europe.
Unverified rumors, including a Bulgarian media report from 2023, suggest she may have been murdered and dismembered on a yacht in the Ionian Sea in 2018, allegedly at the order of a Bulgarian drug lord known as “Taki.”
Konstantin Ignatov Cooperates in Prosecution Against Mark Scott
In March, Konstantin Ignatov, brother of the Cryptoqueen associated with the OneCoin scheme, received a time-served sentence from Judge Edgardo Ramos after spending 34 months in prison. Konstantin had pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud charges in 2019.
Despite being released, Konstantin will serve an additional two years under court supervision and forfeit $118,000 of his earnings from his time at OneCoin.
The decision to grant Konstantin a time-served verdict followed his cooperation with US prosecutors. His testimony against former lawyer Mark Scott played a crucial role in Scott’s sentencing to 10 years in prison on January 25, 2024.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Ramos characterized the OneCoin scheme as “a massive fraud with hundreds of thousands of victims,” highlighting the scale of deception perpetrated. Despite this, Ramos acknowledged Konstantin’s cooperation with prosecutors in the Scott trial as a mitigating factor in the sentencing decision.
