At London’s Wembley Arena, stage lights flickered, pyrotechnics exploded and even flames erupted in a loud applause as Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire” lit up over the speakers. It was then that Ruja Ignatova, nicknamed “Cryptoqueen”, took to the stage in a long, bright red dress, promising her cryptocurrency, OneCoin, to take over the world and become the “bitcoin killer”. The audience at the 2016 event escaped. In the midst of an encryption boom, OneCoin’s position was growing in the United States and around the world. But the company’s meteoric rise would eventually have a quick end. Just a year later, Ignatova disappeared without a trace and authorities in Europe and the United States have since tried to catch her. The FBI added Ignatova to its list of the 10 most wanted fugitives on Thursday – a rumor commonly attributed to suspected cartel leaders, terrorists and assassins. Ignatova, meanwhile, is accused of spearheading a pyramid scheme that defrauded investors of more than $ 4 billion, one of which is considered one of the largest in history. “Today’s announcement is a promise to redouble our efforts to arrest Ignatova, seek justice for her victims, and hold her accountable for her crimes,” said Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. , at a press conference on Thursday. . Ruja Ignatova, pictured in the highly sought-after poster, appears to be speaking at OneCoin Wembley Arena for investors pic.twitter.com/ggx5NazryM – US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) June 30, 2022 Before her face fell on a wanted poster, Ignatova, a German national with Bulgarian ties, had an “excellent resume” with a law degree from Oxford University and a position as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, Williams said. How Ignatova, the only woman on the list of most wanted fugitives, came to join a gang of alleged murderers and gang leaders is a story dating back to 2014, when OneCoin was born. The fancy idea addressed to investors and promoted in marketing material was a revolutionary currency “for everyone to make payments everywhere, [to] all, worldwide “, as Ignatova mocked at Wembley Arena. OneCoin promised a cryptocurrency that surpassed any other and would make the first users see that their investments yield “five or ten times” return, according to a criminal complaint. But the story, as described in the court documents, is not one of the exaggerated promises that its founders failed to fulfill – as in the case of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. Instead, OneCoin was meant to be a Ponzi scheme from the beginning, the researchers claim. The six-signal encryption liner is a classic Ponzi scheme Although supposed to be a form of encryption, OneCoin did not actually have a payment system or blockchain model, the critical technology that backs up cryptocurrencies – making OneCoin tokens virtually useless. Ignatova and the company’s founders are accused of knowing so much. (In a statement to the BBC in 2019, OneCoin denied any wrongdoing.) According to internal e-mails received by the researchers, the purpose of creating OneCoin was to create a “useless currency” that would contribute to the frenzy around encryption with multi-level marketing. OneCoin relied on its users to attract more participants by offering a range of rewards, commissions and “trading packages” at different price points, according to federal researchers. In the end, the investor network covered more than a hundred countries. More than 3 million people are believed to have been deceived, Prosecutor Williams said on Thursday. Ignatova “appealed to the humanity of the people, promising that OneCoin would transform the lives of people without banking,” Williams said. “And she timed her plan, taking full advantage of the frantic speculation in the early days of cryptocurrency.” Meet rapper “Crocodile of Wall Street” accused of laundering billions of dollars in encryption The plan, however, was to “take the money and run and blame someone else for it,” Ignatova wrote to a co-founder in 2014, according to court documents. Cracks around OneCoin began to appear around 2016, Insider reported, when Sweden, Latvia, Norway, Croatia, Italy and Bulgaria – where OneCoin was headquartered – began adding OneCoin to the list. warning of fraudulent acts. Soon lawsuits began to flood. Ignatova began to fear that law enforcement would catch her and even fell into the apartment of her American friend, after she suspected him, Williams said. The recordings eventually alerted her that she was working with the FBI and thwarted her plan to leave, she added. “He immediately boarded a flight from Bulgaria to Greece with a guard. Not a single piece of luggage. The security guard returned, but Ignatova did not. “We have not seen or heard from her since,” Williams said. Despite her disappearance in October 2017, Ignatova was indicted by a major federal court that month and an arrest warrant was issued. He was charged with conspiracy to commit mobile phone fraud, mobile phone fraud, money laundering conspiracy, title fraud and conspiracy to commit title fraud. The first four serve up to 20 years in prison, while the latter is punishable by up to five years in prison. Encryption scams on the rise, draining more than $ 1 billion last year The fate of OneCoin ultimately reflects the fate of its founder. Leaving Ignatova’s brother Konstantin Ignatov behind, the company stumbles upon his arrest by the FBI in 2019. He pleaded guilty to a number of crimes and signed an agreement to work with authorities – something he offered to join the witness protection program and assume a new identity, according to court documents. The FBI is now making an offer to the public to assist in the investigation and is offering a $ 100,000 reward for information leading to Ignatova’s arrest. At the 2016 event in London, he said: “I have been called a lot of things and perhaps the best thing the press called me was ‘the bitcoin killer’. ” Now, he can add the “most wanted fugitive” to the list.
