RUJA IGNATOVA is wanted by the FBI for scamming investors out of £3.54billion.
The Bulgarian woman disappeared after her crimes came to light. Here’s everything you need to know.
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Who is Ruja Ignatova?
Ruja Plamenova Ignatova was born on May 30, 1980 in Bulgaria.
Ignatova emigrated to Germany with her family when she was ten-years-old before spending part of her childhood in Schramberg.
Claims circulated that she may have studied at University of Oxford in England but there has been no confirmation.
In 2005 she earned a PhD in private international law from the University of Konstanz in Germany.
Ignatova was married to the German lawyer Bjorn Strehl and the pair had a daughter together in 2016.
What did Ruja Ignatova do?
Ignatova was first convicted of fraud in Germany in 2012 in connection with her father Plamen Ignatov’s acquisition of a company.
She was given a suspended sentence of 14 months imprisonment.
The following year she was involved with a multi-level marketing scam called BigCoin before creating OneCoin in 2014.
Why is Ruja Ignatova wanted by the FBI?
Ignatova is wanted by the FBI after scamming investors out of $4.5bn (£3.54bn) through her fake cryptocurrency business OneCoin.
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In early 2019, she was charged by US authorities for wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.
She was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted in June 2022, with a $250,000 reward being offered for finding her.
Ignatova is the subject of an international Interpol warrant by German authorities.
Reporting in 2023 and 2024 suggested that Ignatova may have been murdered in 2018 on the orders of Bulgarian organised crime figure “Taki” Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis.
However this has never been confirmed.
What is OneCoin?
OneCoin is a fake cryptocurrency scheme which was set up by Ignatova and launched in 2014.
The scheme promised to provide investors with huge profits, but this never happened.
There were two parts of the business – one of which was selling “educational packages” which cost from €100 to €118,000 and buying “tokens” which could be converted to euros.
The only way to exchange OneCoins for other currencies was the OneCoin Exchange which was an internal marketplace for members who had invested more than a set amount.
OneCoins could be exchanged for euros which were placed in a “virtual wallet” from which they could request a wire transfer.
The marketplace had daily selling limits based on which package the seller had invested in which limited the amount of OneCoins which could be exchanged by the scam’s victims.
How to watch The Missing Cryptoqueen: Dead or Alive?
The Missing Crytoqueen: Dead or Alive? is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
She stole billions, then vanished. New evidence reveals what may have happened. Is she missing or was she murdered?
BBC
It will also air on BBC One on Monday June 3, 2024 at 8pm.
You can also tune into BBC Two where the documentary will air at 1:05am on Saturday June 8, 2024.
The synopsis of the documentary reads: “CEO of fake cryptocurrency OneCoin, Ruja Ignatova, is the FBI’s most wanted woman.
“She stole billions, then vanished. New evidence reveals what may have happened. Is she missing or was she murdered?”
Who is on the FBI’s Most Wanted list?
Here’s a look at the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives:
- Alexis Flores
- Omar Alexander Cardenas
- Yulan Adonay Archaga Carias
- Bhadreshkumar Chetanbhai Patel
- Alejandro Rosales Castillo
- Ruja Ignatova
- Donald Eugene Fields II
- Wilver Villegas-Palomino
- Vitel’Homme Innocent
- Arnoldo Jimenez
