Onecoin‘s Ruja Ignatova, otherwise known as the “Cryptoqueen,” allegedly owns over $11 billion in bitcoin today, making her one of the ringleaders of the largest crypto Ponzi schemes.
Onecoin was founded by Ignatova, Sebastian Greenwood, and her brother, Konstantin Ignatov. A Onecoin Ponzi scheme consisted of multi-level-marketing (MLM) packages that were ostensibly tied to a blockchain. As Ignatova and her cohorts predicted, Onecoin would ultimately be a “bitcoin killer”.
What is a Crypto Ponzi scheme?
Ponzi schemes involve the theft of money from investors and concealing the theft by funneling returns to investors by using money contributed by new investors. The largest pyramid scheme in history was launched by Dr. Ruja, who has never been seen again.
Due to Onecoin’s organizational structure and fraudulent claims, the crypto community immediately warned people. After Onecoin’s launch on September 16, 2014, Bulgaria’s Financial Supervision Commission issued a warning in 2015.
Ms. Ignatova is nowhere to be found today, while her OneCoin co-founder, Sebastian Greenwood, is in a US prison awaiting trial on fraud charges, and Mark Scott, a lawyer who worked for OneCoin, has been convicted in federal court of laundering $400 million.
Lawyer Bruce Barket, representing Mr. Greenwood, said: “The government’s claims that OneCoin is a fraudulent scheme are not proof. It is just as likely that investors have been harmed by the government’s allegations, not the structure of OneCoin.”
A manipulative investor, Ignatova said Onecoin would surpass Bitcoin, causing Bitcoin users to be jealous. She was very persuasive and knew how to dispel people’s doubts.
People from all walks of life invested in Onecoin without hesitation. Daniel, who comes from a farming family in Uganda, invested 700 thousand Ukrainian Shillings he had saved through years of working in Onecoin. It is known that even powerful bishops in some African countries have invested their money in Onecoin after the decline in European investments in 2017.
Jane McAdam from Scotland is another victim of Ignatova’s deceit. Ruja Ignatova’s graduation from Oxford and her doctorate impressed McAdam, who invested a total of 250,000 Euros in Onecoin with his friends. As McAdam discovered later, thanks to a man who contacted him online, the cryptocurrency was fake and he began to question the authorities. He realized they had defrauded him without ever providing a convincing explanation.
Investors expressed their concerns as doubts started to rise across the board, and Ruja was invited to make a statement in Lisbon, Portugal. All the participants were eagerly anticipating her arrival, but Dr. Ruja didn’t show up and is missing since. She made $ 4 billion in profits and bought expensive properties before disappearing from the scene.
FBI records indicate that she boarded a flight from Sofia to Athens two weeks after the incident and was never seen again. A warrant of arrest was issued for many members of the Onecoin team, including Dr. Ruja’s brother, Konstantin Iganov. In 2019, Konstantin Iganov was arrested; he pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud and was sentenced to 90 years in prison.
