Ruja Ignatova was known for her pompous ball gowns, her red lipstick, and her up-and-coming OneCoin, a cryptocurrency that was going to compete with Bitcoin. This Bulgarian assured that these assets would end up becoming the most important in the world and that everyone could pay with her “everywhere”. She convinced so many people from various countries that she ended up raising four billion dollars. It was all a scam, because it was never marketed with that currency.
Ignatova disappeared in 2017 and was never heard from again. The FBI offered up to $100,000 to help locate this woman, “for her alleged involvement in a large-scale fraud scheme.” But little news has come out of her whereabouts. Now, an investigation by Bulgarian news outlet Bird reported that the Crypto Queen was murdered in 2018, citing documents allegedly found in the possession of a murdered Bulgarian police officer.
According to this medium, police documents show that Ignatova was murdered in 2018 on the orders of Christophoros Amanatidis, a drug lord and partner of the businesswoman. The event would have occurred during one of her trips aboard her yacht. After killing her, Ignatova’s corpse was dismembered and thrown into the Ionian Sea.
The report comes to light the same week that Ignatova’s ex-boyfriend, Gilbert Armenta, was sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in the OneCoin scam. Although these police documents are already known to the authorities, the prosecution doubts the source, because they were found in the possession of a murdered Bulgarian police officer.
Beyond the new information, nothing has been heard from the Crypto Queen since 2017. Ruja Ignatova was in charge of the great financial scam of OneCoin, a promising cryptocurrency that was going to compete with Bitcoin. “In two years, no one will talk about Bitcoin anymore!” This woman proclaimed in front of thousands of people gathered at Wembley Arena (London).
Back then, cryptocurrencies were not as popular as they are now and there was less awareness of the risks involved in this type of investment. Ignatova convinced thousands of people, who enthusiastically invested her savings in OneCoin. She ended up grossing at least four billion dollars in nearly seventy countries. But the business never started. These cryptocurrencies never had a real value and investors began to ask for explanations, which did not come. Instead, the Crypto Queen acquired significant and expensive furniture all over the planet.
The FBI put her on their most-wanted criminal list and offered a $100,000 reward for any information. And she warned: “Ignatova is believed to be traveling with armed guards and/or associates. Ignatova may have had plastic surgery or altered her appearance.”
The US office said Ruja Ignatova was wanted for her alleged involvement in a large-scale fraud scheme. “Starting in about 2014, Ignatova and others are alleged to have defrauded investors around the world of billions of dollars. Ignatova was the founder of OneCoin Ltd., a Bulgarian-based company that traded an alleged cryptocurrency,” she noted.
In addition, it details her modus operandi: “In order to execute the scheme, Ignatova allegedly made false statements and representations to individuals to solicit investments in OneCoin. She allegedly instructed victims to transfer investment funds to OneCoin accounts to purchase packages, prompting victims to send electronic transfers representing these investments.”
In 2018, the US court issued an indictment charging Ignatova with various crimes: conspiracy to commit wire fraud; wire fraud; money laundering; conspiracy to commit securities fraud; and securities fraud.
The last trace that the authorities have is on October 25, 2017, when he traveled from Sofia (Bulgaria) to Athens (Greece). The latest news in this regard regarding his whereabouts has been the discovery of these documents, to which the Bulgarian media outlet Bird has had access.
