U.S. State Department Raises Reward to $5M for OneCoin Founder Ruja Ignatova’s Arrest
The US Department of State intensified its efforts on June 26 to capture OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova, also known as the “Cryptoqueen,” who has been missing since she vanished in Athens in 2017.
The FBI is now offering up to $5 million as a reward, up from $250,000 previously, for information contributing to the apprehension or conviction of Ignatova.
Ignatova faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud. These charges stem from her role in defrauding billions of dollars from investors worldwide through OneCoin Ltd.
Ignatova, who has been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list since 2022 , faces an in absentia indictment in Bulgaria for her alleged role in orchestrating the $4 billion OneCoin crypto ponzi scheme. This scheme deceived global investors from 2014 until its collapse in early 2017.
Around 2014, Ignatova and her associates allegedly solicited investments through false statements and misrepresentations. Investors were instructed to transfer funds to OneCoin accounts to purchase investment packages, which led to wire transfers representing these investments. The scheme is believed to have defrauded victims out of more than $4 billion.
The State Department described OneCoin as “one of the largest global fraud schemes in history.” Ignatova, a German national, faces criminal allegations in Bulgaria, the United States, Germany, and India. Several of her former associates have already been sentenced to prison for their involvement in the fraud.
Last year, Karl Greenwood, co-founder of OneCoin, received a 20-year sentence and was ordered to forfeit $300 million . Earlier this year, two of the scheme’s lawyers, Irina
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