- The US State Dept is amping its hunt for OneCoin Founder Ruja Ignatova.
- The FBI has raised its reward more than tenfold.
- Despite being on several most wanted lists, Ignatova remains large.
Ruja Ignatova, the self-proclaimed ‘Cryptoqueen’ and mastermind behind OneCoin, one of the largest crypto scams in history, has dodged jail for years despite being on both Europe’s and the FBI’s most wanted list. With the wheels of justice turning slower than usual, the US State Department is looking to speed things up.
US State Dept Amps Up CryptoQueen Hunt
The US Department of State has raised its bounty to $5 million for information leading to Ignatova’s arrest, who has been on the run since 2017.
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This increase marks the second reward bump from the initial $100,000 offered by the FBI after placing Ignatova on its top ten most wanted list in 2022. The first raise happened in 2023 when the FBI raised the reward to $250,000.
The FBI suspects that the CryptoQueen holds a German passport and may have undergone plastic surgery to evade capture.
The new $5 million reward was authorized by the Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, an initiative established in 2013 to help law enforcement combat international crime and allow the Secretary of State to offer rewards of up to $25 million.
Most of OneCoin Behind Bars Except Ignatova
Ignatova founded OneCoin with Karl Sebastian Greenwood in 2014. The State Department labeled the scheme “one of the largest global fraud schemes in history,” defrauding investors of over $4 billion.
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Today, most individuals connected to OneCoin are behind bars. Greenwood was arrested in Thailand in 2018, charged with fraud and money laundering, and extradited to the US. Last year, he received a 20-year sentence and a $300 million fine.
Ignatova’s brother, Konstantin Ignatov, pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges in 2019 for his role in the OneCoin scheme. He served 34 months in prison before being released in March 2024.
OneCoin’s former head of compliance, Irina Dilkinska, was charged with wire fraud and money laundering on March 21 following her extradition from Bulgaria.
Despite being charged in 2017 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, Ignatova herself remains at large.
On The Flipside
- Numerous investigators suspect that Ignatova was killed by her Bulgarian crime lord associate, Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis, also known as Taki.
- Ruja Ignatova holds the distinction of being the only woman on the FBI’s current most-wanted list.
Why This Matters
Ruja Ignatova remains at large despite most of OneCoin’s key members being imprisoned. The US State Department’s initiative could accelerate the process and finally bring Ignatova to justice.
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