KEY POINTS
- Ignatova's bounty was initially $100,000 but has since climbed to a staggering $5 million
- A Bulgarian investigative report revealed early last year that Ignatova was allegedly killed by a crime boss
- Cryptoqueen's empire collapsed after several years of defrauding people out of $4 billion
The U.S. Department of State and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have hiked the reward offers to anyone with information that could lead to the arrest or conviction of Ruja Ignatova, notoriously dubbed as the "Cryptoqueen."
"Beginning in approximately 2014 in Bulgaria, Ignatova, as co-founder of OneCoin Ltd, and others defrauded investors from across the world out of billions of dollars. Ignatova promoted OneCoin as a digital currency investment through false statements and representations to attract investors. By 2017, OneCoin is believed to have defrauded victims of more than $4 billion," the State Department said in a press release Thursday.
As part of the efforts to step up the game in the years-long search for Ignatova, U.S. law enforcement authorities have increased the reward from $100,000 to $5 million.
In an updated notice, the FBI said the infamous Cryptoqueen "is believed to travel with armed guards and/or associates" and "may have had plastic surgery or otherwise altered her appearance."
Ignatova, who was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in mid-2022, is believed to still be in hiding despite claims that she was killed in 2018.
Bulgarian investigators claimed in a February 2023 report published by Bulgarian investigative outlet Bird, that Ignatova was "killed in November 2018" as ordered by Christoforos "Taki" Amanatidis, a Bulgarian crime boss. Ignatova was allegedly murdered, and her body was dismembered and thrown overboard on a yacht in the Ionian Sea. She was last seen in 2017.
A few weeks before the Bird report, it was reported that Ignatova's name reappeared in a British filing, wherein the notorious Cryptoqueen was listed as a so-called beneficial owner of a Guernsey-based company that purchased a multimillion-dollar penthouse in London.
Based on the latest move by U.S. law enforcement, it appears American officials doubt Ignatova is dead. After all, the DOJ was able to get a hold of OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who pled guilty late in 2022 to multiple charges related to wire fraud. It is worth noting that unlike Bitcoin, OneCoin did not have a blockchain system that secured transactions. Instead, it was a centralized currency hosted on a OneCoin server.
Ignatova's three other alleged associates were taken into custody by German authorities and were charged with fraud, money laundering, and other banking violations. The Cryptoqueen's brother took over the company after Ignatova vanished, but pled guilty to money laundering and fraud about two years later.
