One of Onecoin’s co-founders, Ruja Ignatova, aka “Cryptoqueen,” was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) most wanted list Thursday. In addition to adding Cryptoqueen to the most wanted list, the FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the 42-year-old woman.
Onecoin’s Cryptoqueen is now on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List
Ruja Ignatova is well known for her involvement in the Onecoin Ponzi scheme, which is estimated to have defrauded people out of $4 billion. The Ponzi scheme promoted Onecoin as a blockchain project with a native cryptocurrency, but there was no blockchain or actual crypto asset behind the scam.
However, Onecoin management, recruiters, and Ignatova promoted the project as if it were a “Bitcoin Killer. “From late 2014 until March 2016, Ignatova marketed Onecoin and regularly recruited members by recruited members. Toward the end of the scheme’s functioning state, it issued a notice that it would suspend operations for two weeks; by January 2017, the Onecoin exchange xcoinx was closed indefinitely and Ignatova disappeared.
Last November, findings stemming from a trial against Ignatova’s German lawyer, Martin Breidenbach, allegedly showed that the Cryptoqueen had led a lavish lifestyle and purchased an $18.2 million London penthouse before fleeing In mid-May 2022, the European Union Law Enforcement Cooperation Agency (Europol) added Ignatova to Europe’s most wanted list.
FBI Special Agent: ‘I want to bring her to justice’
The following June 30, 2022, the FBI added Kryptokoun to its U.S.-based “10 Most Wanted List,” a list introduced in March 1950, which was “a list of the most wanted persons in the United States.” created to facilitate the capture of criminal masterminds in the United States. Over the past 72 years, Ignatova is the 11th woman selected by the FBI to join the list.
“Onecoin claimed to have a private blockchain,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Ronald Shimko explained in a statement Thursday.” This is in contrast to other virtual currencies that have decentralized and public blockchains. In this case, investors were simply told to trust Onecoin.” Shimko added that he hopes that the inclusion of Ignatova’s name on the list will bring more attention to the case in order to push for the arrest of Cryptoqueen.In the FBI’s press statement,Shimko concluded that concludes that Shimko has
There are many victims around the world who have been financially hurt by this case. We want to bring her to justice.
According to investigators, before Kryptocoon escaped, she had dark hair and brown eyes, but the FBI believes “she may have changed her appearance.” According to domestic intelligence, Ignatova speaks fluent Bulgarian, German, and English.
“She may have traveled on a fraudulent passport and has known ties to Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates.” The FBI’s press release provides further details, and the FBI is urging anyone with information about Kryptokoon’s whereabouts to contact their local FBI office or the nearest U.S. embassy.
Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, FBI