In January 2022, police searched apartments and offices in Weilburg, Baden-Baden, Frankfurt am Main, Bad Homburg, Neu-Isenburg and Vaihingen. "There was no other way," he says ruefully. At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Twitter Ruja Ignatova was added to the FBI's Ten Most. Although Jen McAdam had now seen the light, few other OneCoin investors had. The stranger was Timothy Curry, a Bitcoin enthusiast and cryptocurrency advocate. But when Daniel found out about OneCoin, it suddenly seemed like a much better alternative. On October 25, two weeks after the Lisbon event, she boarded a Ryanair flight from Sofia to Athens, Greece. [12] She reportedly has also worked for McKinsey & Company. 'Haters' - Bitcoiners are 'haters'. In October 2022, a documentary called "CryptoqueenThe OneCoin Scam" debuted at Mipcom Cannes. '", 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. They don't have a blockchain today. Sitting at her computer, the Glaswegian clicked on a link and joined a OneCoin webinar. She vanished, he said, because she was afraid that somebody close to her was going to give her up to the FBI. Dr Ruja Ignatova has been charged with wire fraud, security fraud and money laundering, by the US authorities By Jamie Bartlett Presenter, The Missing Cryptoqueen In June 2016, Dr Ruja. It said the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast "will not present any truthful information and cannot be considered objective, nor unbiased". Beginning in . "We are concerned about the potential risk this poses to UK consumers.". She understood that truth and lies are getting harder to tell apart when there is so much contradictory information online. 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. When Georgia and I visited Sofia a month later, Dr Ruja's personal mansion appeared to be locked up and empty, but the OneCoin office gave every appearance of being a busy workplace. We also learned that Dr Ruja had a daughter in late 2016, and that she remained very close to her. On 5 November 2019, the day after the final episode of The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast was released, Dr Ruja's brother, Konstantin Ignatov, appeared in court in New York, testifying for the government in a case against a lawyer accused of laundering $400m of the money OneCoin made in the US. "One Coin!" I don't want those people I introduced into OneCoin to see me moving around. When Georgia and I called them ourselves to check, they confirmed it. To buy the packages some sold their cattle, their land and even their houses - with disastrous consequences. We've received your submission. Dr Ruja was still travelling the world to sell her vision - hopping from Macau to Dubai to Singapore, filling out arenas, pulling in new investors. A small beaten down van parked in front and was filled with various office equipment and supplies. [13], In 2012, she was convicted of fraud in Germany in connection with her and her father Plamen Ignatov's acquisition of a company that shortly afterwards was declared bankrupt in dubious circumstances; she was given a suspended sentence of 14 months' imprisonment. All over the world, people were already investing their savings into OneCoin, hoping to be part of this new revolution. Ruja Ignatova called herself the Cryptoqueen. "In my opinion, for what it's worth, she's moving around the Mediterranean," he says. The US lawyer prosecuting Ignatova, Damian Williams, released a damning statement last month where he said her crypto tokens were useless. She never appeared. Technically it was owned by a company called One Property. [17], On 25 October 2017 Ignatova disappeared after being tipped off about increasing police investigations about OneCoin. Europol said it was looking into the issue. Ruja Ignatova was born in Sofia but moved to Germany when she was 8 years old. He will be sentenced in April and could receive up to 20 years in prison. In early October 2016 - four months after Dr Ruja's London appearance - a blockchain expert called Bjorn Bjercke was called by a recruitment agent, with a curious job offer. Now a hit podcast is stepping up the search for the international scam artist, writes Tanya Sweeney When you're dealing with a scam worth billions of euros, it's not unusual for shadowy groups to get involved. "Look, nothing has happened. [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. ), 'Hun, this could be your opportunity to get rich'. BBC News Ruja Ignatova, also known as the "missing Cryptoqueen", has been placed on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list. She knew there would be enough people either desperate enough, or greedy enough, or confused enough to take a bet on OneCoin. They, like almost everyone else involved, were convinced they were earning a fortune. According to OneCoin, its main business was selling educational material for cryptocurrency trading. His colleagues - also private investigators - visited top-end restaurants in Athens armed with photos of Ruja, and in one of them several waiters claimed to clearly remember her dining there earlier this year. Now this link has been confirmed Bartlett said it could be a breakthrough. Bjorn received 7.69 million euros which were transferred from Hong Kong. Thousands of people were gathering in venues, all over the world, to see and hear her presentations. It's no surprise, then, that OneCoin's corporate structure is incredibly complicated. Bjercke would get an apartment and a car - and an attractive annual salary of about 250,000. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. 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. Europol told the BBC it was looking into the matter, adding: "This complex scenario with many stakeholders makes it difficult to assess where and how such an incident might have occurred.". There are also investors who feel guilty. 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. If it's true she was in these countries earlier this year, she probably has a fake identity. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. There, she recruited members to promote OneCoin and sell to their friends and relatives. ', "I said: 'What? Hotels near Romer Hotels near Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof Hotels near Main Tower Hotels near Cathedral of St. Bartholomew (Dom St. Bartholomaus) Hotels near Stadel Museum Hotels near Palmengarten Hotels near Iron Bridge Hotels near Zoo Frankfurt Hotels near Senckenberg Natural History Museum (Naturmuseum Senckenberg) Hotels near Frankfurt am Main Lots of people were looking to get involved in this strange new opportunity. By contrast, Jen McAdam says she bears a heavy burden of guilt. It was only earlier this year that the US authorities revealed she'd flown to Athens on 25 October 2017. Big companies like Amway and Herbalife use these techniques. The FCA said it had been up for long enough, but OneCoin promoters presented this as proof that the UK authorities considered OneCoin a legitimate investment. If you believe you have been a victim of fraud in relation to OneCoin or you suspect someone of actively marketing OneCoin, please come forward and report it to Action Fraud online.". So she decided to invest her savings and the money from her inheritance from her father into OneCoin. It represents the dark side of rapid technological change - the way that every new technology creates amazing new opportunities and possibilities for people who understand it, but also the chance to exploit the people who don't. Today doors are locked. Thanks for contacting us. But by this stage, thanks to Curry and Bjercke, she knew that a standard SQL server database was no basis for a genuine cryptocurrency. But when the day came, Dr Ruja - who was famously punctual - didn't show up. 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. 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. I sell a box to my friends, Georgia and Phil, and make a small cut. "If Dr. Ruja still has the 230,000 bitcoins, she would be one of the currency's largest holders. Phil and Georgia both recruit two people, and then all four of them recruit two more, and so on. As the money started drying up in Europe, promoters turned more and more to countries like Uganda. Aliases: Dr. Ruja Ignatova, Ruja Plamenova Ignatova, Ruja P. Ignatova, "CryptoQueen" Date(s) . To explain this, I need first to explain briefly how a cryptocurrency actually works. It's easy as that.". But in January 2017 it was shut down permanently. Files seen by the BBC from Europol meetings suggest the FBI-wanted fugitive knew about efforts to arrest her months before she vanished. 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 It was launched by two offshore companies: OneCoin Ltd. (based in Bulgaria and registered in Dubai) and OneLife Network Ltd. (registered in Belize). How a con man duped struggling farmers into a pigeon breeding scheme that had fraud written all over it. Members could later exchange these educational packages, ranging from 100 euros to 118,000 euros, for OneCoins. In March 2016 it was announced that the exchange would be closing down for two weeks for maintenance. She told people she had invented a cryptocurrency to rival Bitcoin, and persuaded them to invest billions. That meant that investors could no longer trade their OneCoins and retrieve their investments. In 2012, she was convicted of fraud in Germany in connection with the acquisition of a steel company obtained by Ruja and her father. "We are very proud of this in this country," he says. Frankfurt probably isn't the only place she goes - it might be one of several places, including perhaps Dubai and Russia. This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 21:13. It suggests she is still alive, and there are documents out there somewhere which contain vital clues as to her recent whereabouts. Far from putting an end to their financial worries, she and her friends and family had thrown a quarter of a million euros away. Previously, the property belonged to a company called Abbots House Penthouse Limited, based in Guernsey, a well-known tax haven with very little government oversight. Read about our approach to external linking. But there was something very important these investors didn't know. ", Such explanations don't offer much comfort to those affected. Ruja Ignatova, or Dr. Ruja, was a prominent figure in the growing cryptocurrency market. When investors became members promoting OneCoin, they were getting a percentage margin on the proceeds from the people they had introduced and persuaded to invest in the company. She is big on the fairytale and cinderella stuff so castles. THE FBI has added a Bulgarian woman dubbed the 'Crypto Queen' to its infamous 10 most wanted list after she stole billions in the biggest scam EVER. 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