CrimeaPRESS reports:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has raised the reward for reliable information on the location of Ruja Ignatova, the founder of the cryptocurrency project OneCoin, to $5 million. Ignatova, a German citizen and native of Bulgaria, was put on an international wanted list in 2017 after her fraudulent scheme was exposed.
Ignatova, the CryptoQueen, is the only woman on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. The reward puts her notoriety on par with fugitives like European and Russian drug cartel leaders and even the head of the international crime syndicate MS-13.
History of OneCoin
Launched in 2014, OneCoin was positioned as a revolutionary cryptocurrency capable of surpassing Bitcoin. However, in reality, the project turned out to be a classic financial pyramid based on the Ponzi scheme. Investors, attracted by promises of huge profits, invested billions of dollars in the project. According to experts, the total damage from OneCoin’s activities is about $4 billion.
In 2016, at the height of OneCoin’s popularity, Ignatova spoke at major international conferences, assuring audiences of her project’s bright future. However, behind the shiny facade was a scam: OneCoin did not have a blockchain platform, which is the basis of any legitimate cryptocurrency. Instead, it used a regular database, which allowed transaction data and coin values to be manipulated.
Search and Reward
After the fraud was exposed in 2017, the FBI issued a warrant for Ruja Ignatova’s arrest and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts. In 2022, Ignatova was added to the World’s Ten Most Wanted list, and the reward was increased to $250,000. The FBI recently raised the reward to $5 million, hoping to attract more informants.
Experts believe that a significant increase in the reward could encourage people, perhaps even close to Ignatova, to provide information on her whereabouts. However, there is also a belief that Ignatova could have fallen victim to the Bulgarian mafia, which makes finding her even more difficult.
Biography of Ruja Ignatova
Ruja Ignatova, known as the “crypto queen,” began her career with a brilliant education and a successful job at the consulting agency McKinsey. She was born in Bulgaria but moved to Germany, where she received her education. Ignatova claimed that her project OneCoin would be the next big cryptocurrency, surpassing Bitcoin.
In 2017, after the deception was revealed, Ignatova disappeared without a trace. She was last seen on October 25, 2017, when she flew from Sofia to Athens. Since then, her whereabouts have been unknown. Rumors and speculation range from her possible presence in Russia and Dubai to versions of her death.
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