Onecoin’s Co-Founder Ruja Ignatova Has Been Added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List – It is well known that Ruja Ignatova was involved in the Onecoin Ponzi scheme, which is estimated to have scammed victims of $4 billion. The Onecoin pyramid scheme falsely claimed to be a blockchain project with a native cryptocurrency, but there was no actual blockchain or crypto asset present.
However, Ignatova, Onecoin’s management, and recruits promoted the initiative as a “bitcoin killer.” Ignatova regularly solicited members and pitched Onecoin sales from late 2014 until March 2016.
When the scheme’s functional phase came to a close, the business announced that activities would be suspended for two weeks. By January 2017, Ignatova had vanished, and the Onecoin exchange xcoinx had officially shut down.
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Findings from a trial against Ignatova’s German attorney, Martin Breidenbach, from last November revealed that the Cryptoqueen allegedly enjoyed a luxury lifestyle and had bought a $18.2 million London apartment before fleeing. Ignatova was added to the list of Europe’s Most Wanted Fugitives by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, Europol, in mid-May 2022.
The Cryptoqueen was added to the FBI’s list of the ten most wanted fugitives in the United States the following month, on June 30, 2022.
The list that was first published in March 1950 was made to encourage the arrest of America’s top criminals. Ignatova enters the list as the 11th woman to be chosen by the FBI during the past 72 years.
In a statement on Thursday, FBI special agent Ronald Shimko said, “Onecoin claimed to have a private blockchain.” Other virtual currencies, on the other hand, have a decentralized and open blockchain. Investors in this instance were merely urged to believe in Onecoin. Ignatova’s inclusion on the list, added Shimko, is intended to increase awareness of the case and support the arrest of the Cryptoqueen.
Shimko’s conclusion was stated in the FBI press release:
“There are several victims globally who have suffered severe financial hardship. We want to hold her accountable.”
Before she escaped, the Cryptoqueen had black hair and brown eyes, according to investigators, but the FBI thinks “she could have altered her physical appearance.” Ignatova reportedly has fluency in Bulgarian, German, and English, according to the domestic intelligence and security service.
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Onecoin’s Co-Founder Ruja Ignatova Has Been Added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List – According to the FBI’s press release, “She may be traveling on a fake passport and has links to Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates.” The FBI is requesting that anyone with knowledge regarding the whereabouts of the Cryptoqueen get in touch with any nearby FBI office or the nearest American Embassy.
