OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova, who steered one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency frauds, is back in the spotlight more than five years after vanishing from the public eye. The woman behind the biggest and most blatant frauds in cryptocurrency history had simply vanished into thin air after stepping off a plane in Greece in 2017.
While rumours and conspiracy theories abound, no one knows for sure where Ignatova has been or even whether she is still alive. However, an investigative report by the Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD) claims the missing Crypto Queen was killed on a yacht in Greece in November 2018.
Per the report, a Bulgarian national called Georgi Georgiev Vasilev was drunk when he revealed that the notorious drug lord Hristoforos Amanatidis, aka Taki, was behind Ruja’s murder. The Bulgarian media outlet further claims that her body was dismembered and tossed in the Ionian Sea.
However, a Twitter handle called ‘Crypto Xpose,’ which has been following OneCoin’s news, cast doubts on the authenticity of BIRD’s conclusions. He pointed out that the FBI does not put the deceased on the top 10 most wanted list — a notoriety normally bestowed on suspected cartel leaders, terrorists and killers. He added that Bulgarian police are not taking this revelation seriously since there is no concrete evidence.
Ignatova resurfaced last month in a filing linked to a London property, which was reportedly submitted to the British government.
The Bulgarian woman, believed to be in her 40s, was listed as a beneficial owner of Abbots House Penthouse Limited, which she purchased under a Guernsey-based company name. Lawyers representing Ignatova listed her name on the penthouse that went up for sale with an asking price of $15.5 million which was then downgraded to $13.6 million.
Ignatova, who disappeared without a trace in 2017, reportedly came out of oblivion because of a new rule in the UK which required any “beneficial owner” to be named in full rather than just her shell company.
OneCoin was founded in 2014 by the Bulgarian businesswoman, who served as OneCoin’s top leader until her disappearance. Since 2016, the project has been the subject of investigations in the US and UK, and several countries have tried to catch scam operatives ever since.
The FBI added Ignatova last year to its list of 10 most wanted fugitives. Announcing a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to her arrest, federal investigators accuse Ignatova of defrauding victims out of more than $4 billion.
Her brother, Konstantin Ignatov, who is accused of co-masterminding the OneCoin pyramid scheme, was arrested in 2019 and pleaded guilty to several charges, including money laundering.
Despite desperately attempting to diminish his role within OneCoin, Ignatov ultimately revealed some details about the disappearance of his sister, implying that even he was duped by Ignatova. He told the judge that the OneCoin founder described critics of her exit scam as “haters,” and that she was afraid somebody close to her was going to give her up to the FBI.
