The Bulgarian-German businesswoman was last spotted in Athens in 2017, and now worth up to $100,000 to provide U.S. law enforcement with information about her.
“Crypto” is often used as a designation inside the community. United States Securities and Exchange Commission member Hester Peirce is called Crypto Mom for her persistent support for digital assets, and Time magazine capped Vitalik Buterin the Prince of Crypto. Ruja Ignatova was given the title “Cryptoqueen” in a 2019 true-crime podcast, however, it was with far less compliment.
Ignatova was the maker of OneCoin, a claimed cryptocurrency that proved to be a Ponzi scheme. The law enforcement claimed, that OneCoin Ltd. has defrauded more than 3 million investors of more than $4 billion since 2014. Her company has also been suspected of corrupting the presidents of Serbia and Bulgaria, among other things.
Now Ignatova can add “most wanted” to her supposed stylings, thanks to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which make her on its top-ten list Thursday and will pay up to $100,000 for information leading to her arrest. FBI claimed, Ignatova was last known to be in Athens in 2017.
Ignatova recently was among Europol’s most wanted as well, although she is not on that list any more.
Ignatova was raised in Germany and holds a Ph.D. in economics. In her prime, the cultural Bulgarian was known for her elegant attire and fancy parties. She engrossed a crowd of over 3,000 to Wembley Arena in London to hear her speak in 2016, even though doubts about her activities were already common knowledge by that time.
OneCoin has been the subject of a class-action suit, since then, and her brother and contacts have been brought to trial. The world has taken note of the drama integral in the case. Kate Winslet is reportedly intricate in a film based on the experiences of a OneCoin investor. Variety reports claim that a deal has been made on a three-part documentary about Ignatova as well.
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