The crypto queen possibly traveled on a German passport from Athens, possibly to the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Russia, Eastern Europe or even back to Bulgaria, the FBI has said. They, like almost everyone else involved, were convinced they were earning a fortune. The self-styled cryptoqueen even posted a video one week after the birth of her daughter, thanking people for their support and gifts. She doesn't speak English either, so I'm shocked to discover, as we sit and talk, that Daniel has never actually told his mother that the money is lost. In 2016 it was here that 22-year-old Daniel Lienhardt came as he was scraping together the 700,000 Ugandan shillings ($250) he needed to buy a OneCoin starter package. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. 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 "The companies and individuals behind OneCoin are based outside UK jurisdiction," it said. "This is classic," he exclaims. Far from putting an end to their financial worries, she and her friends and family had thrown a quarter of a million euros away. "Acting on behalf of investors and creditors of OneCoin," Levy described it as one of the largest and most successful financial pyramids in history, seeking an investigation of misfeasance by the Bulgarian government for taking no steps to seize assets from OneCoin including real estate, bank accounts, and 230,000 Bitcoins.. She was entered into a Whatsapp group, with its own "leader" who disseminated information from the headquarters in Sofia. He will be sentenced in April and could receive up to 20 years in prison. Fairly soon Igor Alberts was making more than 1m a month from OneCoin, which quickly became the biggest product in network marketing. She is thought to have undergone several plastic surgeries in order to alter her appearance. Daniel took me and Georgia to meet Prudence, who first introduced him to OneCoin. "British companies are the companies of choice," he comments. (I tested this explanation on my mother, the family technophobe, and she told me I'd failed to make it clear enough and should start again. In early June 2016 a 36-year-old businesswoman called Dr Ruja Ignatova walked on stage at Wembley Arena in front of thousands of adoring fans. In January 2022, police searched apartments and offices in Weilburg, Baden-Baden, Frankfurt am Main, Bad Homburg, Neu-Isenburg and Vaihingen. After Dr Ruja's non-appearance in Lisbon, a point came when Igor Alberts, like Jen McAdam, asked to see evidence of the blockchain. On the same day he was arrested, the FBI declared OneCoin a fraudulent currency. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is one of five financial routes Ignatova has known connections to. There have been several alleged sightings of her, and it is believed that she could be travelling in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and Dubai. I don't want to be the person that breaks the news to Daniel's mother. Aliases: Dr. Ruja Ignatova, Ruja Plamenova Ignatova, Ruja P. Ignatova, "CryptoQueen" Date(s) . The reason so many people are excited by Bitcoin is that it solves that problem. As a result, lawyers representing Ignatova made a formal claim on the property, listing her as the apartments beneficial owner in a filing with the UKs financial regulator. Documents leaked to the BBC say 4bn between August 2014 and March 2017. The listing of a property in the heart of London has brought a notorious cryptocurrency fugitive who ran a $4 billion Ponzi scheme out of the woodwork. "I can't discuss that. He points out that he spent millions buying OneCoin, possibly more than anyone else. In fact, OneCoins were entirely worthless, he said, per CNN. The alleged motive for the murder was to conceal the drug lord's involvement in the OneCoin scam. In June 2022, the FBI added Ruja Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. This is clearly a question for a professional, which is why Georgia and I went to see private investigator Alan McLean. She would urge and convince simple people to invest in OneCoin and not be left out of the huge potential profits. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US. It's hard to say.". The fact that OneCoin was operating internationally also created difficulties for the authorities. But the motive of other people was simply being able to acquire a better life; people who worked long hours, people who did difficult physical labor, old people. In addition to losing their own money, they were the instigators for their loved ones to lose their investments as well. The stranger was Timothy Curry, a Bitcoin enthusiast and cryptocurrency advocate. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales, The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president, 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. [18] In 2019, her brother Konstantin Ignatov pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering in connection with the scheme. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. On the other hand, Ruja and her collaborators amassed millions, which provided them with an affluent lifestyle: they bought luxury yachts, expensive jewelery and exclusive properties. The. Thanks for contacting us. FBI records presented in court documents earlier this year indicate that on 25 October 2017, just two weeks after her Lisbon no-show, she boarded a Ryanair flight from Sofia to Athens. The 16th century English buccaneer Sir Francis Drake died without heirs and this has inspired many to search for his supposed fortune, and others to swindle fortune hunters. Lots of money. Another tip he gives us is to find out where she has been on her yacht. They started pitching it to potential investors in 2014, promising between a fivefold and tenfold return, and referred to their investors as idiots and crazy. Did we get close to her? At the gated entrance to their mansion is a 10ft-high wrought iron gate with their names and the slogan "What dreams may come". A change in the rules of Companies House the UK equivalent of ASIC forced Ignatova out of hiding, as she had to be named in full rather than just her shell company. Igor Alberts, the MLM seller, also talks about the involvement of "very influential people". Despite the successful facade, trouble was brewing. We called the lawyer who is (or was) married to her, and he didn't want to talk. It turned out to be a shouting match, but it would send McAdam's life in a new direction. But it is controversial, because usually only a small number of people make all the money. For its fans this is a revolutionary new form of currency, with the potential to sideline the banks and national currencies, and provide banking for anyone with a mobile phone. They live in an enormous house in an affluent neighbourhood on the outskirts of Amsterdam. I had no clue that it could be false. She lives in a concrete house with a tin roof - five small rooms, a small television and a cooking area. [24], The Federal Bureau of Investigation added Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and announced at a joint press conference with IRS Criminal Investigation and United States Attorney's Office Southern District of New York, offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to her arrest. Dr. Ruja Ignatova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria on May 30, 1980. (And I, at the top, would be making a cut on all the sales. In early June 2016 a 36-year-old businesswoman called Dr Ruja Ignatova walked on stage at Wembley Arena in front of thousands of adoring fans. [14][15], In 2013, she was involved with a multi-level marketing scam called BigCoin. Back July 2018 he was arrested in Koh Samui, Thailand, and extradited to the US where he pleaded guilty to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money. James Richard Shinn was a book lover. And plus, as an application, it doesn't need a server behind it. Ruja Ignatova, also known as the "missing Cryptoqueen", received police information about investigations into her $4bn (3.5bn) cryptocurrency fraud before she disappeared, it is claimed. A Maserati and Aston Martin are parked outside. The promoters said it was the larger packages that were really life-changing. She had been impressed by Ruja and the upward trend in the price of OneCoin without the fluctuations other cryptocurrencies usually have. ", Some action at the OneCoin HQ at last. (She received a fine and a suspended sentence in October 2016.) This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 21:13. "We made in our first month almost 90,000 out of nothing. Less than a year later, the warning was removed from the website. This platform was launched after many delays. "Particularly if you have invested something, not only money, but belief, reputation, intelligence. Investors might not have understood the technology, but they could see her talking to huge audiences, or at the Economist conference. From the very beginning, she was a gifted child and always at the top of her class. "They still exist", he says, in his garden near the village of Hay-on-Wye. The agency is also offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to her arrest. "If you have your money and it's taken away from you, life becomes stressful," she says. Doors opened. In March 2016 it was announced that the exchange would be closing down for two weeks for maintenance. "I've never told her directly that it's not going to work - that there is no more money, there's no more hope," he tells me. We've received your submission. A few weeks after our meeting Alan gets back in touch, with some amazing information. Ruja Ignatova celebrating her birthday with her husband and OneCoin members. They thought I ate their money.". In November of the same year, he pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and fraud. Cryptoqueen: How this woman scammed the world, then vanished, BBC News, November 24, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61966824, https://www.banklesstimes.com/news/2021/11/17/onecoin-alive-and-kicking-in-bulgaria-govt-assisted-crypto-pyramid-scheme/. There were rumours of course - lots of them. One Property was owned by another company called Risk Ltd. Risk Ltd was owned by Ruja, but was then transferred to some unnamed Panamanians, but it was still managed by another company called Peragon. Any criticism or awkward questions were actively discouraged. Nobody knew why she wasn't there," recalls one delegate. She started her own company, OneCoin, in 2014 with her brother Konstantin Ignatov, which was touted as a lucrative rival to the leading . Dr Ruja Ignatova called her creation the 'Bitcoin killer' - and her hype duped a million investors. 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.". And his targets were public libraries in America where he would masquerade as a "jolly," well-educated professor and ultimately pillage rare books to the tune of more than half a million dollars. Every time a Bitcoin is sent from me to someone else, a record of that transaction goes into everyone's book. OneCoin has always denied wrongdoing. She was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted in June 2022. You can also see more on the next episode of BBC Click. ), 'Hun, this could be your opportunity to get rich'. But besides loving books, he was also a master book thief. [10][2] Claims that she may have studied at University of Oxford in England give no details of college, course, or date of matriculation. BBC News Ruja Ignatova, also known as the "missing Cryptoqueen", has been placed on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list. 2023 BBC. Lots of people were looking to get involved in this strange new opportunity. She understood that truth and lies are getting harder to tell apart when there is so much contradictory information online. [27][28], Ignatova was married to the German lawyer Bjorn Strehl, with whom she had a daughter in 2016.[2][29]. After that, she vanished and remains missing. 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. "We gathered the teams together and we started to work like crazy," he says. The police documents were passed to The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast by Frank Schneider, a former spy and trusted adviser to Ms Ignatova. His wife, Andreea Cimbala, nods along, adding that if he wakes up and puts on pink underwear, he sticks to pink as he chooses his shirt, trousers and jacket. ", The webinar hosts talked about Dr Ruja's glittering background: Oxford University, a PhD from Konstanz, a stint with the respected management consultancy, McKinsey and Company A speech Dr Ruja had given at a conference hosted by The Economist magazine was shown - and that's what clinched it for McAdam. "OneCoins principals continue to operate from Bulgaria," according to Dr Levy. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. Alberts was brought up in a poor neighbourhood. Find out here. No other law enforcement bodies in attendance would confirm how the information got out. Money can buy a lot of friends, and I would imagine shes taking advantage of that.. The US lawyer prosecuting Ignatova, Damian Williams, released a damning statement last month where he said her crypto tokens were useless. "I thought, 'What???' "In two years, nobody will speak about Bitcoin any more!" Then Its Leader Vanished", "BigCoin & BNA: The original OneCoin Ponzi points", "Co-founder of multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency pyramid scheme "OneCoin" pleads guilty | Internal Revenue Service", "Ruja Ignatova: Leaked police notes may have alerted FBI-wanted Cryptoqueen", "Krypto-Betrug mit OneCoin: Weiteres Verfahren und Durchsuchungen", "International - Betrug in Millionenhhe", "RED NOTICE: Ruja Ignatova, dubbed 'the Cryptoqueen', is #wanted by Germany @bka for fraud and money laundering. He said he could prove it, too. [19], In 2022, prosecutors in Darmstadt, Germany confirmed an investigation of "a lawyer from Neu-Isenburg" for possible money laundering: the transfer of 7.69 million euros by Ignatova into one of her private accounts in 2016. "She was on her way. There is some very clever maths behind all this, but this means that Bitcoins can't be faked, they can't be hacked and can't be double-spent. Frankfurt probably isn't the only place she goes - it might be one of several places, including perhaps Dubai and Russia. Jen McAdam on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, The video of Dr Ruja at the Economist conference was what clinched it for Jen McAdam, Igor Alberts and Andreea Cimbala outside their house, Daniel, Prudence and Jamie with children in the poor area of Kampala where Prudence works as a nurse, Dr Ruja was renowned for expensive dresses and red lipstick, Dr Ruja posted a video of herself with her baby on social media, Dr Ruja comes on stage at Wembley to the song This Girl Is On Fire. Game over.". ", 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. [17], On 25 October 2017 Ignatova disappeared after being tipped off about increasing police investigations about OneCoin. The US Department of Justice, New York County District Attorney's Office, and Dubai Police did not comment. She was dressed, as usual, in an expensive. 16 months' suspended imprisonment for a previous case. It's thought to be a key anti-corruption tool. We already knew that Dr Ruja spent some of her childhood in Schramberg, southern Germany. In early 2019, she was charged in absentia by U.S. authorities for wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. There's a famous saying in journalism, "Follow the money." ", I ask him why not. 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. In 2012, she was convicted of fraud in Germany in connection to the acquisition of a steel company that she and her father acquired. [12] She reportedly has also worked for McKinsey & Company. All over the world, people were already investing their savings into OneCoin, hoping to be part of this new revolution. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. And literally my legs just went, and I fell on the floor,'" she says. Ms Ignatova disappeared on 25 October 2017 after being tipped off about intensifying police investigations into her OneCoin cryptocurrency. Ruja Ignatova, the self-described "Cryptoqueen.". Jamie Bartlett spent months investigating how she did it for the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, and trying to figure out where she's hiding. "If Dr. Ruja still has the 230,000 bitcoins, she would be one of the currency's largest holders. "When you look at my clothes, they are disciplined," he says. The nature of MLM networks - where people often recruit others who are close to them - creates a blurred sense of responsibility. Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric'. [16] In 2014, she founded a pyramid scheme called OneCoin. the FBI added Ruja Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, The Missing Cryptoqueen: The Billion Dollar Cryptocurrency Con and the Woman Who Got Away With It, Cryptoqueen: How this woman scammed the world, then vanished, The life and crimes of Ruja Ignatova, new to FBI's 10 Most Wanted Ruja Ignatova, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/fbi-adds-cryptoqueen-to-ten-most-wanted-fugitives-list-for-fraud.htm, 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova added to FBI's top ten most wanted list. Documents leaked to the BBC show that British people spent almost 30m on OneCoin in the first six months of 2016, 2m of it in a single week - and the rate of investment could have increased after the Wembley extravaganza. Where's the help? But towards the end of the year Jen McAdam was contacted by a stranger on the internet. Ruja's brother Constantin Ignatov, whom she placed in charge of the company after leaving in 2017, was arrested in March 2019. The inescapable conclusion was that those rising numbers on the OneCoin website were meaningless - they were just numbers typed into a computer by a OneCoin employee. It was a cryptocurrency company, and it had been running for a while - but it didn't have a blockchain. Following her studies, she became a consultant for McKinsey and Co. The company went bankrupt shortly after acquisition under dubious circumstances. "One Coin!" "You must dig deeper.". Ruja Ignatova is wanted for her alleged participation in a large-scale fraud scheme. The FBI added Dr. Ruja Ignatova, the so-called 'Cryptoqueen,' to its list of Ten Most Wanted fugitives. Another lead comes our way when we pay a visit to a bizarre OneCoin beauty pageant in Bucharest. He was arrested in March 2019 at LA Airport as he was about to board a flight to Bulgaria. Even Google - 'Don't listen to Google!'" OneCoins other co-founder, Sebastian Greenwood, also fled. And, most frustratingly of all, she correctly guessed that by the time we realised it, she'd be gone, along with the money. For several months, a French journalist called Maxime Grimbert tried to unpick OneCoin's corporate workings, collecting as many company names and bank account details as he could. What are the things that I'm going to have to do for this company?'" Even the most obscure entry or innocuous comment on a forum is usually saved somewhere, and with enough digging can be found. At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. His mother had doubts, but he persuaded her to put the money into OneCoin instead. We will be there for a week and wanted to take various day trips as well as tour the actual city. If it's true she was in these countries earlier this year, she probably has a fake identity. [21][22] An Interpol Red Notice followed. So much for following the money. But when the day came, Dr Ruja - who was famously punctual - didn't show up. "Well then prove it to me!" It wasn't a place we'd previously thought of looking. At one, in July 2017, the American pop star Bebe Rexha performed a private set. Many were struck by the personality and persuasiveness of the "visionary" Dr Ruja. She started planning holidays and shopping trips. From a tiny fragment of a poster advertising a tennis tournament, an expert identified the park in which one photograph was taken. In June 2022, she was added to the FBI's 10 most wanted list. "I felt responsibility. It said the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast "will not present any truthful information and cannot be considered objective, nor unbiased". Like this one at Wembley Arena in London in 2016. Taking seriously Alan McLean's advice about studying Dr Ruja's life before OneCoin, Georgia and I turn to the internet, which fortunately never forgets anything. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. In 2014, 34-year-old Ignatova and Sebastian Greenwood, an expert in multi-level marketing, launched a cryptocurrency called OneCoin. If anyone asks Prudence when the investment is going to deliver the promised riches, she tells them to wait. DeSantis won't say he's running. "What's the name of the company?" A cryptocurrency start-up from Bulgaria was looking for a chief technical officer. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Just as he was boarding his flight home, he was pounced on by FBI agents, arrested, and charged with fraud in connection with OneCoin. Ms Ignatova, a 42-year-old Bulgaria-born German national, disappeared on 25 October 2017 after being tipped-off about intensifying police investigations into her Sofia-based scam. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. She spotted that society's defence against OneCoin - the law-makers, the police, and also us in the media would struggle to understand what was happening. Realizing that an arrest warrant was imminent and fearing that she could spend the rest of her life behind bars, Ruja decided to flee. Igor Alberts is wearing black-and-gold everything. He was initially contracted by OneCoin in order to develop their blockchain for them. They keep postponing this. When Georgia and I called them ourselves to check, they confirmed it. "Where's the support? Following her studies, she became a . '", Money might push people to invest in the first place, but the sense of belonging, of doing something, of achieving something, is why they stay, Barker says. No wonder it spread like wildfire. "And in that sense it's cultic.". In 2017, Ignatova was already under investigation by the City of London Police, the German authorities, as well as the FBI and Europol, for a string of charges including securities and wire fraud and money laundering. In her downtime she would throw parties on her luxurious yacht The Davina. In general, people are tempted by the idea of making huge profits fast. Ruja's ambition was to create a cryptocurrency to rival Bitcoin for the ordinary person who was not an experienced investor, but who could invest a smaller amount of money and make a considerable profit. He told us we were right - Frankfurt is indeed where she spends much of her time. But then I recruit Georgia and Phil to start selling too, and I make a cut on their sales as well. It suggests she is still alive, and there are documents out there somewhere which contain vital clues as to her recent whereabouts. The daughter, we were informed, might be in Frankfurt. At the age of 10, her family moved to Germany. Dr Ruja herself made a powerful impression too, with her "princess's dresses" and her vision of a financial revolution. Do you know who to complain to when you are a victim of a Ponzi scheme or pyramid scheme? The book is called The Missing Cryptoqueen: The Billion Dollar Cryptocurrency Con and the Woman Who Got Away With It. It was only earlier this year that the US authorities revealed she'd flown to Athens on 25 October 2017. They don't have a blockchain today. She could hear the whoops and cheers of thousands of adoring fans in the background. People involved at the early stages have told him it was never supposed to be a billion-dollar scam. Read about our approach to external linking. You think, 'Wait a bit longer. This scam is estimated to be well over four billion dollars. A book about this case was written by British investigative reporter Jamie Bartlett and published in June 2022. asked Bjercke. "They're very easy to set up and they look legitimate.". The FCA did not respond to the BBC's request to comment. Charles Ponzi is remembered for creating the Ponzi scheme. McAdam started a Facebook support group for other defrauded victims of OneCoin. So we start unearthing previous addresses, known friends, old phone numbers, anything that could help us. Then, two years ago, she disappeared. The Bulgarian woman, believed to be in her 40s, is wanted for her alleged. "One Life!" Dr Ruja's genius was to recognise that established MLM sellers with huge downlines were the perfect vehicle to market her fake coin - a plan the FBI says she privately referred to as "the bitch of Wall Street, meets MLM". "I can only deduce that it came from the circles that she was in and the connections that she had through a variety of influential personalities.". This was to be resolved at a large gathering of European OneCoin promoters in Lisbon, Portugal, in October 2017. Reluctantly, she agreed to a conversation on Skype. Armed with a microphone and several photographs of Dr Ruja, we headed off to Frankfurt and searched old addresses and gated neighbourhoods said to be the most expensive in Germany. Unlike Ignatova, however, he didnt stay free for very long. They were simply recording their transactions internally. It's mathematic. It wasn't just a fake cryptocurrency, it was an old-fashioned pyramid scheme, with the fake coin as its "product". They are desperate to get their hands on the conwoman, offering a $100,000 reward for intel that ultimately leads to her arrest.