Bulgarian-born German citizen Ruja Ignatova, 42, and a business partner called Sebastian Greenwood conned crypto enthusiasts by claiming their crypto token, OneCoin, would be a Bitcoin killer. In the Ntangamo region of Uganda, not far from Rwandan border, most people make their living growing bananas, or sometimes cassava, sweet potato, beans or groundnut. MLM is not illegal. Like this one at Wembley Arena in London in 2016. She was dressed, as usual, in an expensive ballgown, wearing long diamond earrings and bright red lipstick. So don't worry too much if you don't follow it either.) People involved at the early stages have told him it was never supposed to be a billion-dollar scam. "The companies and individuals behind OneCoin are based outside UK jurisdiction," it said. They can easily kill me. She told people she had invented a cryptocurrency to rival Bitcoin, and persuaded them to invest billions. By March 2017, more than 3.5 billion had been invested in the OneCoin system. Do you know who to complain to when you are a victim of a Ponzi scheme or pyramid scheme? The stranger was Timothy Curry, a Bitcoin enthusiast and cryptocurrency advocate. It suggests she is still alive, and there are documents out there somewhere which contain vital clues as to her recent whereabouts. This was to be resolved at a large gathering of European OneCoin promoters in Lisbon, Portugal, in October 2017. You told me it was a cryptocurrency company.'". She left with a tremendous amount of cash, FBI spokesman Michael Driscoll added. From a tiny fragment of a poster advertising a tennis tournament, an expert identified the park in which one photograph was taken. 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[5][6], Since 2017, Ignatova has been on the run from various international law enforcement agencies. Here's an example: Ruja bought a very large property in central Sofia. "You will find her," he said. It's hard to know how much money has been put into OneCoin. We've received your submission. "Look, nothing has happened. According to the BBC, farmers in Uganda sold their livestock and invested their money in OneCoin, hoping for a better life for their families and themselves. Yet a typical recruiting event would include no education, but plenty of discussion about investing in cryptocurrency. It was only earlier this year that the US authorities revealed she'd flown to Athens on 25 October 2017. "Once OneCoin was running above 10 million, 20 million, 30 million, something happened where she was unable to stop it," Bjercke says. The FBI launched their most wanted list in 1950 and of the 529 fugitives that have earned an honorable mention, shes one of just 11 women. Ignatovas brother, Konstantin Ignatova, took over the operation after she fled. The US Department of Justice, New York County District Attorney's Office, and Dubai Police did not comment. "Oh, hey presto, they haven't filed a person with significant control. "And in that sense it's cultic.". The force has provided assistance to foreign law enforcement partners in respect of their investigations concerning OneCoin personnel and will continue to do this. Ruja Ignatova is wanted for her alleged participation in a large-scale fraud scheme. But we need to keep going, we needed to find the house. He thought OneCoin would give cryptocurrencies a bad name, and he told McAdam bluntly that it was a scam - "the biggest scam in the [expletive] world". Both companies were founded by Ignatova and Greenwood. Charles Ponzi is remembered for creating the Ponzi scheme. This platform was launched after many delays. As the money started drying up in Europe, promoters turned more and more to countries like Uganda. And then went completely off radar. He said he could prove it, too. The self-styled crypto queen, however, is now wanted by law enforcement for her involvement in the OneCoin scheme. In 2016, Ms. McAdam had been in bed due to a chronic illness and she was unable to work. What are the things that I'm going to have to do for this company?'" He didn't get it, and in December 2017 he quit. He was an Italian immigrant whose investment scam resulted in people losing tens of millions of dollars. Prof Eileen Barker of the London School of Economics, who has spent years studying groups like the Moonies and Scientologists, says there are similarities between OneCoin and messianic millennium cults, where people believe they are part of something big that is going to change the world - and no matter what the evidence, once they've signed up, it's very hard for them to admit they are wrong. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is one of five financial routes Ignatova has known connections to. Ruja Ignatova profile summary Full name: Ruja Ignatova Date of birth: 30th May 1980 Place of birth: Sofia, Bulgaria Hometown: Schramberg, Baden-Wrttemberg state, Germany Zodiac Sign: Taurus Age: 41 years Company: OneCoin Nationality: Bulgarian Ethnicity: Caucasian Parents: Veska and Plamen Ignatov Sibling: Konstantin Ignatov Realizing that an arrest warrant was imminent and fearing that she could spend the rest of her life behind bars, Ruja decided to flee. And Peragon was owned by another company called Artefix, which was owned by Ruja's mother, Veska. he recalls. Another tip he gives us is to find out where she has been on her yacht. [23] This listing was reciprocated by Europol adding Ignatova to its 'most wanted' list; however, Deutsche Welle notes that the Europol listing was removed under unknown circumstances. It wasn't a place we'd previously thought of looking. I've also been told by more than one person that it could be as much as 15bn. "I've been telling her it's changing. Others told us she was dead - which does remain a possibility. The documents show attendees from Bulgaria's Interior Ministry at the March 2017 Europol meeting. Its understood Ignatova purchased the property under a company name, but a new rule means that the beneficiary of said company must also be named in full. When I ask for more details, he replies: "No, I cannot tell that because I don't want to take that risk with our lives.". Before long, she had invested 10,000 of her own money - and persuaded friends and family to invest 250,000 of theirs. The family had saved about 3,000 to buy a maize store so that Daniel's mother could stop spending every day in the fields. Details first surfaced in 2021 in leaked documents from Dubai's courts, posted online by Dr. Jonathan Levy, a UK-based lawyer, who described her as "the most successful criminal in history.". After that, she vanished and remains missing. A towel covers the front door, and a few metres away is her land, where she grows her own food and sells anything left over at the local market. The company went bankrupt shortly after its acquisition. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Why Covid lab-leak theory is now being taken seriously, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. And that friend was visiting the richest neighbourhood in Frankfurt in summer this year. The agent replied that this was correct. [2][3][4] She is the subject of the 2019 BBC podcast series The Missing Cryptoqueen and the 2022 book of the same name. It was launched by two offshore companies: OneCoin Ltd. (based in Bulgaria and registered in Dubai) and OneLife Network Ltd. (registered in Belize). This is notoriously difficult - go online and you'll find hundreds of different descriptions, some of them utterly baffling to the non-specialist. For a long time, people have tried to create a form of digital money independent of state-backed currencies. Frankfurt probably isn't the only place she goes - it might be one of several places, including perhaps Dubai and Russia. So with Georgia Catt, producer of The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, I went to see Oliver Bullough, an expert on what he calls Moneyland - the shadowy parallel world where criminals and the super-rich hide their wealth. [12] She reportedly has also worked for McKinsey & Company. Author's note: I am not an expert in cryptocurrencies. Another lead comes our way when we pay a visit to a bizarre OneCoin beauty pageant in Bucharest. In 2020, it was announced that Jennifer McAdam will be portrayed by Kate Winslet in an upcoming Hollywood film about the OneCoin fraud. They have filed no financial information at all." ", The City of London Police told the BBC: "There was insufficient evidence to support criminal proceedings against individuals based in the UK, though the force has never specified that there had been no concerns surrounding OneCoin. They live in an enormous house in an affluent neighbourhood on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Then he says I should check what yachts were bought in Athens around the time she arrived there from Sofia. Until this week, however, the OneCoin head office remained open for business - and people were continuing to promote the currency. It added that the allegations made about it around the world were being challenged, stating: "Our partners, our customers and our lawyers are fighting successfully against this action around the globe and we are sure that the vision of a new system on the basis of a 'financial revolution' will be established. But when the day came, Dr Ruja - who was famously punctual - didn't show up. Investors often told us that what drew them in initially was the fear that they would miss out on the next big thing. From either Greece or Romania Dr Ruja could be extradited to the US. The manager of the database could go in and change it at will. She would urge and convince simple people to invest in OneCoin and not be left out of the huge potential profits. "I can't discuss that. "You can never be blamed for believing in something. At the age of 10, her family moved to Germany. But they have always failed because no-one could trust them. Some are running because they got loans from a bank. She started planning holidays and shopping trips. He doesn't seem certain it's a good idea. Many were struck by the personality and persuasiveness of the "visionary" Dr Ruja. I didn't even know what is a blockchain What doubt can I have?". Dr Ruja Ignatova called her creation the 'Bitcoin killer' - and her hype duped a million investors. Daniel's mother then tells us that when she first saw me and Georgia, she assumed it was a good sign - that perhaps it meant that her money was going to arrive at last. No other law enforcement bodies in attendance would confirm how the information got out. But besides loving books, he was also a master book thief. "If I knew what I would have to go through, I would have never blown the whistle. Maybe it's just a delay. One of the main OneCoin offices in Kampala is attached to a church. Her collaborators started getting arrested on securities and fraud charges and money laundering. Lots of people were looking to get involved in this strange new opportunity. Dr. Ruja Ignatova, 41, pictured here in 2015, is wanted by Interpol because they say she cheated people who wanted to invest their money in cryptocurrency. Money can buy a lot of friends, and I would imagine shes taking advantage of that.. 16 months' suspended imprisonment for a previous case. On the run since 2017, Dr Ruja Ignat Those events were packed and organized like rock concerts. I pay 100 to start selling vitamin tablets directly to people. At one, in July 2017, the American pop star Bebe Rexha performed a private set. It was a cryptocurrency company, and it had been running for a while - but it didn't have a blockchain. It seemed like easy money. [16] In 2014, she founded a pyramid scheme called OneCoin. Prudence is a nurse in a Kampala slum, who thought she could make more money selling OneCoin and set about recruiting new investors. "When prophecy fails they believe more strongly," she says. Dr Ruja had vanished. Barely a year later, she bamboozled billions and left it behind (not the money) - family included. "She was on her way. she replied, sharply. Dr Ruja herself made a powerful impression too, with her "princess's dresses" and her vision of a financial revolution. But though she has stopped recruiting, many others haven't, and there are still plenty of interested buyers, she says. Authorities say she may have. It was easy: you purchased OneCoin tokens, and these then generated coins, which went into your account. It told the BBC: "OneCoin verifiably fulfils all criteria of the definition of a crypto-currency." ", Some action at the OneCoin HQ at last. Ruja Ignatova, or Dr. Ruja, was a prominent figure in the growing cryptocurrency market. They were simply recording their transactions internally. BBC News Ruja Ignatova, also known as the "missing Cryptoqueen", has been placed on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list. Following her studies, she became a consultant for McKinsey and Co. OneCoin,. A reward of $100,000 is offered by the FBI for information leading to her arrest. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. It said the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast "will not present any truthful information and cannot be considered objective, nor unbiased". It depends upon a special type of database called a blockchain, which is like a huge book - one that Bitcoin owners have independent but identical copies of. In fact, she had gone underground. A cryptocurrency start-up from Bulgaria was looking for a chief technical officer. He clicks to see the company's filing history, but where you should see company accounts, there is nothing. Founded and led by Dr Ruja Ignatova, a Bulgarian law PHD graduate and businesswoman, it grew quickly, often driven by hyperbolic public events. 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