March 28, 2024

FBI lists OneCoin founder as one of the top 10 most wanted criminals

FBI lists OneCoin founder as one of the top 10 most wanted criminals

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) included the founder of the OneCoin pyramid Ruja Ignatova in the list of tenmost wanted criminals. This was stated in the office of the federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.

According to the statement, Ignatova “allegedly defrauded investors of more than $4 billion through the cryptocurrency company OneCoin.” Her whereabouts have been unknown since 2017.

“There are so many victims all over the world who have suffered financially because of this. We want to bring her to justice, ”the message says.

The FBI offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information about the founder of the pyramid. According to authorities, Ignatova has connections with Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece and the United Arab Emirates.

The Scam of the Decade: How the Doctor of Law organized the OneCoin pyramid and went missing with billions of euros


Ruja Ignatova founded the OneCoin financial pyramid in 2014 together with Sebastian Greenwood.

The project was initially positioned as a highly profitable cryptocurrency, in which investors profited not only from the growth of the asset, but also for attracting new participants.

In November 2019, the Court of the Southern District of New York found OneCoin lawyer Mark Scott guilty of laundering nearly $400 million. Ignatova was charged in absentia in the United States.

In March 2020, Konstantin Ignatov, the brother of the founder of OneCoin, was detained at the Los Angeles airport. He subsequently pleaded guilty to several counts and faced up to 90 years in prison.

The US government has achieved a delay in sentencing Ignatov, saying that cooperation with him has not yet been completed.

One of the defendants in the class action lawsuit of investors against the organizers of the pyramid was the financial holding Bank of New York Mellon.

In August 2021, the Italian authorities charged 14person associated with OneCoin in aggravated fraud. According to law enforcement officers, transactions totaling about €11 million went through local banks in favor of the pyramid.

Recall that in May 2022, Europol included Ruja Ignatova in the list of the most wanted criminals and offered a reward of up to €5,000 for “important information about her”.

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