Sometimes alive, hidden somewhere in the world, sometimes dead, killed on a yacht, or even with a different appearance after cosmetic surgery… For six years, the craziest theories have been circulating about Ruja Ignatova. But the mystery surrounding the fate of this Bulgarian still hovers. Because the one we nicknamed the “cryptoqueen” has not given any sign of life since October 25, 2017. And for good reason, the American justice suspects her of having stolen, between 2014 and 2017, more than 4 billion dollars to investors via its fake cryptocurrency OneCoin. An international arrest warrant was issued against her for fraud and the FBI even placed her on the list of the ten most wanted fugitives worldwide in June 2022.
According to journalist Jamie Bartlett, who devoted the book and podcast of the same name The Missing Crypto Queen, Ruja Ignatova, born in 1980 in Bulgaria, “is one of the greatest criminals still at large”. The author paints the portrait of a woman who “desperately wanted to be rich, going so far as to devour books in the early morning on how to make money”. In 2014, the 34-year-old Bulgarian, she created a company, with a certain Karl Sebastian Greenwood, called OneCoin, which offers to invest in a cryptocurrency of the same name. They then promise buyers a return on investment ten times greater than their bet. But from the outset, the two founders are well aware that their pyramid-based business is a scam, calling themselves “crazy” and “idiot” buyers. explains CNN.
“In two years, no one will talk about Bitcoin anymore”
According to US authorities, OneCoin is one of the biggest international fraud schemes ever perpetrated. Because unlike its competitors, OneCoin has managed to arouse the interest of the general public, beyond insider circles. A year and a half after the launch of the project, Ruja Ignatova and her partner claim more than two million customers. During a conference in June 2016, in front of thousands of people, at Wembley Arena in London – the video of which is still online – the Bulgarian claims that her cryptocurrency, OneCoin, will “kill” her rival, Bitcoin: “In two years, no one will talk about Bitcoin anymore,” she said to a conquered crowd. (Spoiler alert: it’s wrong, Bitcoin, launched in 2009, is still the number one cryptocurrency).
Because unlike its competitors, the value of OneCoin was not based on market supply and demand, but modified internally by its founders themselves. “She timed her scheme perfectly, capitalizing on the frenzied speculation of the early days of cryptocurrency,” said Damian Williams, New York’s chief prosecutor, in a statement released in late December 2022. “OneCoins had no value… (Their) lies were designed for one purpose, to get ordinary people around the world to part with their hard-earned money,” he added.
A $100,000 reward
But in 2016, the first doubts set in among investors. Unable to resell their tokens to recover their initial bet, they begin to question the reliability of the project. The rumor is spreading like wildfire: the company is actually a scam. The media begin to investigate, closely followed by American justice. According to the FBI, it was by bugging the apartment of her American boyfriend – whom she suspected of infidelity – that Ruja Ignatova discovered that she was under investigation, reports CNN.
After several months of investigation, on October 12, 2017, Ruja Ignatova was charged with several counts of fraud by the US Department of Justice, which issued an arrest warrant against her. A few days later, on October 25, the “cryptoqueen” took a flight from Athens, Greece, to Sofia, Bulgaria. This is when the authorities lose track of him, explain the American authorities, who promise “100,000 dollars for any information leading to his arrest”.
His relatives were less fortunate. Karl Sebastian Greenwood, his associate, was arrested in July 2018 in Koh Samui, Thailand, and extradited to the United States. Charged with three counts of fraud, he pleaded guilty. He will be tried next April and faces up to twenty years in prison. Ruja Ignatova’s brother, Konstantin Ignatov, was arrested in March 2019 at Los Angeles International Airport as he was about to fly back to Bulgaria. Also accused of fraud, he must be tried in the coming weeks.
The craziest theories
Six years after fainting in the wild, Ruja Ignatova remains nowhere to be found. The FBI believes she may still be alive and traveling “with armed guards or associates”, using “a German passport to the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece and/or Eastern Europe”. Another theory, according to the American authorities, it is possible that the Bulgarian “had recourse to plastic surgery or changed her appearance in any way”, explains the investigators in her fact sheet.
But the craziest theories circulate. According to some, she was murdered by bankrupt investors or hiding in Greece or Dubai. For others, she would have returned to Germany, where she grew up, or would be protected in Bulgaria by mafia groups that she helped to enrich themselves. But according to an investigation by the Bulgarian Center for Investigative Journalists (BIRD), published in mid-February, the “cryptoqueen” was allegedly murdered aboard a yacht in November 2018, on the orders of a drug baron. Supporting documents, the investigation claims that his remains were dismembered and thrown into the sea off the Greek coast. The Bulgarian authorities have never confirmed this information.
But our British colleagues are advancing something quite different. In an article entitled “Has the fugitive reappeared? », the BBC explains that a luxury apartment in Kensington, near London, has been put up for sale at 12.5 million pounds. And the owner would be none other than Ruja Ignatova, according to documents consulted by our colleagues. Even having completely disappeared from radar screens, Ruja Ignatova continues to be talked about.