Lyra Martin Tech 07.01.2022 06:Jul AM EDT

‘Cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova is Now on the FBI’s Most Wanted List

FBI and prosecutors announced Ignatova's position on Thursday, June 30. Ignatova was accused in 2019 of wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering for her role in the cryptocurrency firm OneCoin.

Ruja Ignatova of OneCoin Now an FBI Fugitive

Ruja Ignatova, once known as the 'Cryptoqueen,' is now seated with a gorgeous crown in a new royal court: the FBI's top 10 most wanted.

FBI agents and federal prosecutors revealed Ignatova's new status on Thursday, June 30. For her involvement in the cryptocurrency startup OneCoin, which prosecutors said was nothing more than a ponzi scam, Ignatova was charged in 2019 with wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to conduct money laundering.

Ignatova has been missing since 2017, and in May this year, she was also put on Europol's most-wanted list.

When OneCoin was initially released in 2014, its supporters claimed that it was a mineable cryptocurrency with a maximum supply of 120 billion coins. Investors were drawn to the proposal because it held the potential to replace Bitcoin. Contrary to BTC, OneCoin's blockchain was nonexistent.

The Department of Justice accused Ignatova and others of scamming billions of dollars from investors all across the globe via the promotion of OneCoin, according to the FBI's website. Ignatova led OneCoin until October 12, 2017, when a federal arrest warrant was issued for her, and she was charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Although Michael Driscoll, the FBI's assistant director in charge of New York, refused to say if they had any leads, he did note that Ignatova departed with a significant sum of money and added that money could buy a lot of friends.

From Cryptoqueen to FBI Fugitive: What Led Ignatova to the Wanted List?

Dr. Ruja Ignatova, a 36-year-old entrepreneur, took the stage at Wembley Arena in the first few days of June 2016 in front of thousands of loving spectators. She was wearing her customary pricey ballgown in addition to long diamond earrings and vivid red lipstick.

OneCoin was on track to overtake all other cryptocurrencies, and she said to the roaring gathering, "for everyone to make payments everywhere."

Around the world, people were already investing money in OneCoin in the hopes of taking part in this new revolution. In the first half of 2016, British customers spent €30 million on OneCoin, including €2 million in a single week, according to the BBC. The Wembley extravaganza may have accelerated the rate of investment. Between August 2014 and March 2017, there were over €4 billion invested across numerous countries. Palestinian Territories to Pakistan, Brazil to Hong Kong, Yemen to Canada, Hong Kong to Hong Kong, and so on.

Despite the convincing front, there was danger afoot. Investors were becoming increasingly worried as the long-anticipated exchange that would enable OneCoin to be converted into cash continued to be postponed.

This was to be settled at a sizable meeting of European OneCoin supporters in Lisbon, Portugal, in October 2017. However, Dr. Ruja, renowned for being on time, didn't show up when the appointed time arrived.

In actuality, she had hidden. She took a Ryanair aircraft from Sofia to Athens on October 25, 2017, barely two weeks after she failed to show up in Lisbon, according to FBI data that were included in court filings earlier this year, and then disappeared entirely from view. Dr. Ruja was last seen or heard from after that.