Ruja Ignatova is accused of defrauding investors of $ 4 billion (3, 3.3 billion) by selling a counterfeit cryptocurrency called OneCoin. Ignatova, a German national, went missing in late 2017 after locating an apartment belonging to her American friend and learning she was working on an FBI investigation into OneCoin, prosecutors said. She boarded a flight from Bulgaria to Greece and has not been seen since. The FBI is offering a reward of $ 100,000 (82 82,463) for information leading to her arrest. Ignatova is believed to be traveling with armed guards and / or associates, the office said, adding that she may have had plastic surgery or otherwise changed her appearance. The 42-year-old was charged in 2019 with eight charges, including remittance fraud and securities fraud for the operation of Bulgaria-based OneCoin Ltd as a pyramid scheme. Prosecutors say the company offered commissions to members to entice others to buy a useless cryptocurrency. “She perfectly dated her plan, exploiting the frantic speculation of the early days of cryptocurrency,” said Damian Williams, Manhattan’s attorney general. He described OneCoin as “one of the biggest Ponzi designs in history”. The FBI adds fugitives to its list of “Most Wanted” when it believes the public may be able to help identify suspects. Michael Driscoll, the FBI’s assistant director in New York, said Ignatova “left with a huge amount of cash.” “Money can buy a lot of friends and I imagine it takes advantage of that.”
