When we think of criminals on the run, murderers, terrorists, or bank robbers usually come to mind.
As times change, there are new ways to circumvent the law.
Ruja Ignatova
(42), known as
the
crypto queen , since 2022
tops the list of the 10 most wanted people by the FBI
.
Investigative agencies are offering up to $100,000 as a reward in exchange for information on the whereabouts of the founder of
OneCoin
, a company linked to cryptocurrencies.
It is believed that Ruja illegitimately collected
more than 4,000 million dollars
and disappeared in 2017. What was the scam for which Justice is looking for her?
This is her story.
The FBI is offering $100,000 for specific information on Ruja Ignatova.
A child prodigy
Ruja Plamenova Ignatova was born on May 30, 1980 in
Ruse, Bulgaria
.
At the age of 10, she emigrated to
Germany
with her family, and she spent part of her childhood in that country.
Since she was little, she always liked mathematics, she was even a prodigy at her school, in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
After finishing high school, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of
Oxford
.
Among her student achievements, in 2005 she obtained a doctorate in private international law from the University of Konstanz.
Until then, her life seemed like one more professional.
Until in 2014 Ignatova created
OneCoin
, a cryptocurrency system that, according to the woman, was very profitable in the long term.
For the next three years, she traveled the world attending conferences in which she promoted her company as the best of all.
Ruja Ignatova created her company OneCoin in 2014.
Ruja was presented as a woman with a brilliant track record: Aside from all her degrees as a college student, she had spent a stint at the respected management consultancy McKinsey and Company.
No one suspected what she really was: a global con artist.
his big plan
The success of her company was resounding, investors from all over the world wanted to be part of the scheme of the respected and honorable Bulgarian.
In OneCoin, between August 2014 and March 2017, according to the
BBC
, more than US$4 billion were invested.
Ignatova boasted of being a lawyer, did sales on television, and appeared as one of the main promoters of an event sponsored by The Economist
magazine
.
"She is one of the biggest criminals who is free," a journalist assured the outlet some time later.
The scammer's troubles began in 2016, after her brand presentation in London in front of hundreds of investors from around the world, Ruja spent months traveling the world selling her vision.
Ignatova filled stadiums and attracted many people who believed that investing in her business was profitable.
OneCoin was still growing rapidly, and she was already starting to spend her new fortune.
He bought multimillion-dollar properties in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, and in the Black Sea resort of Sozopol.
In his spare time, he hosted parties on his luxurious yacht The Davina.
At one of the parties, in July 2017, the American pop star Bebe Rexha gave a private concert.
The whereabouts of the woman have been unknown since 2017.
OneCoin promised all its users the exchange of the cryptocurrency for cash.
Which was not happening at the beginning of 2017 and investors began to worry.
The woman responded that the situation was going to be resolved, and in October of that year a large meeting was called in Lisbon.
The day came and Ruja did not appear.
Due to the big scam, the
United States
issued a federal arrest warrant for the “crypto queen” and her partner, Mark Scott, a former corporate attorney.
Scott was found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
As for Ignatova, she is charged with 8 crimes, including
wire and securities fraud.
Wanted by the FBI and CIA
Today, the FBI is offering up to $100,000 to help locate her, and Europol has promised a reward to whoever leads to her arrest.
The "cryptoqueen" is currently unaccounted for.
What he does know is that she took a large sum of cash with her, according to
The Guardian
newspaper .
The brother of the "cryptoqueen", Konstantin, was arrested in March 2019 after continuing the business left by his sister.
Later that same year, Kostantin pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and fraud, among others.
In 2022 Europol joined the search for the crypto queen.
Regarding Ruja's whereabouts, many theories and hypotheses were made: several people claim that there are powerful people who protect her in her native Bulgaria, and that she leads an almost normal life due to several plastic surgeries she underwent.
Another of the possible destinations for the “crypto queen” could be London.
And others risked that she could be dead, which is still a possibility.
The truth is that the woman was clever, she found an opportunity and took advantage of it, when there was not much information about digital currencies, she managed to get many people desperate and greedy enough to bet on her shell company.
When these people found out about the scam, she had already absconded with all the money.
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