By
MacKenzie Sigalos
-
CNBC
The FBI on Thursday added Dr. Ruja Ignatova, who calls herself
the Queen of Crypto
, to its list of 10 most wanted fugitives and offered a $100,000 reward for facilitating her arrest.
Ignatova created a cryptocurrency called OneCoin in 2014
with
which he allegedly defrauded investors of more than $4 billion over three years before disappearing.
Europol added her to its list of Europe's most wanted fugitives in May.
The FBI alleges that the investment project, created in Bulgaria, did not have a
blockchain,
the technology that secures digital transactions, and that the coins thus lacked any real backing.
Bitcoin, by contrast, is protected by a global network of miners who maintain a public ledger, or
blockchain
.
Ruja Ignatova, aka the 'Cryptoqueen', the most wanted woman by the FBI.FBI
Mike Driscoll, deputy director of the FBI in New York, is "sure" that they will eventually find her.
And Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, called her an "international fugitive who allegedly masterminded a global fraud."
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Williams added that Ignatova "sits side by side on the most wanted list alongside cartel leaders, assassins and terrorists."
Ignatova has been on the run for years: She
was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2017, and the Southern District of New York subsequently issued an arrest warrant for her.
In February 2018, he was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and two counts of committing securities fraud.
Each charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
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Regarding his whereabouts, the FBI indicated in a press release that he traveled from Bulgaria to Greece in October 2017, but from there he lost track.
"He can travel with a German passport to the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece and/or Eastern Europe," he said.
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Ignatova's brother Konstantin participated in the fraud.
He was arrested in 2019 and pleaded guilty to various crimes that year.
Detectives describe the large-scale fraud they committed as akin to an international pyramid scheme.
Ignatova allegedly made false statements to attract investors, who sent money to OneCoin to buy the fake coin.