Ruja Ignatova, the ‘Missing cryptoqueen’, brain behind USD 4.5 billion cryptocurrency scam, she is world’s most wanted criminal, her links are….

Ignatova served as OneCoin's top leader through October 2017. On October 25, 2017, Ignatova traveled from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, and may have traveled elsewhere after that.

New Delhi: Ruja Ignatova, also known as the Missing Cryptoqueen, is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for orchestrating a USD 4.5 billion cryptocurrency scam called OneCoin. Ruja, who has been missing for six years, is subject to a global freezing order, which prevents her assets from being sold or moved.

She was last seen when she stepped off a Ryanair flight in Athens, Greece.

The BBC, in June, had revealed her connections to the Bulgarian underworld and a man widely suspected to be an organised crime boss who was involved in her disappearance.

Ignatova and the Scam:

Beginning in approximately 2014, Ignatova and others are alleged to have defrauded billions of dollars from investors all over the world. Ignatova was the founder of OneCoin Ltd., a Bulgaria-based company that marketed a purported cryptocurrency.

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In order to execute the scheme, Ignatova allegedly made false statements and representations to individuals in order to solicit investments in OneCoin. She allegedly instructed victims to transmit investment funds to OneCoin accounts in order to purchase OneCoin packages, causing victims to send wire transfers representing these investments. Throughout the scheme, OneCoin is believed to have defrauded victims out of more than $4 billion.

Ignatova served as OneCoin’s top leader through October 2017. On October 25, 2017, Ignatova traveled from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, and may have traveled elsewhere after that. She may travel on a German passport to the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece and/or Eastern Europe.

On October 12, 2017, Ignatova was charged in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York and a federal warrant was issued for her arrest. On February 6, 2018, a superseding indictment was issued charging Ignatova with one count each of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud; Wire Fraud; Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering; Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud; and Securities Fraud.

Who is Ruja Ignatova?

Ruja, who studied at Oxford University, was born in Bulgaria and grew up in Germany.
Before launching a cryptocurrency called OneCoin in 2014, Ruja had built a successful career in the finance sector.
Ruja Ignatova convinced millions of people worldwide to invest in OneCoin.
Ruja Plamenova Ignatova was born on May 30, 1980 and disappeared October 25, 2017
Ignatova emigrated to Germany with her family when she was ten years old
She spent part of her childhood in Schramberg in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
In 2005, she earned a PhD in private international law from the University of Konstanz in Germany with the dissertation Art. 5 Nr. 1 EuGVO – Chancen und Perspektiven der Reform des Gerichtsstands am
Erfüllungsort, which discusses lex causae in conflict of laws.
She reportedly also worked for McKinsey & Company.

Investors Yet To Get Any Compensation:

The investors of OneCoin have failed to get significant compensation for their losses, much like the search for Ignatova. US authorities are currently offering a USD 5 million (£4m) reward for information leading to her arrest. The authorities have also made the freezing order public at London’s High Court. It is part of a group action brought by more than 400 OneCoin investors.

It is spearheaded by Jennifer McAdam, who said she and her friends and family lost more than £200,000 in the OneCoin scam. “I have seen first hand the toll this fraud has taken on so many lives,” she said to BBC.

“The stories of victims are utterly heart-breaking and the financial ruin they have been left in is unbearable.”

McAdam who hails from Scotland, first shared her story in 2019 with the BBC’s Missing Cryptoqueen podcast. Like others interviewed from Uganda and the US, she had convinced her closest friends and family to invest before realising it was a scam.