Global InformationRuja Ignatova information
| Ruja Ignatova | |
|---|---|
 FBI picture | |
| FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive | |
| Reward | $250,000 |
| Description | |
| Born | Ruzha Plamenova Ignatova 30 May 1980 Ruse, Bulgaria |
| Nationality |
|
| Status | |
| Penalty | Up to 90 years for the Ponzi scheme. 16 months' suspended imprisonment for a previous case. |
| Added | 30 June 2022 |
| Number | 527 |
| Currently a Top Ten Fugitive | |
Ruja Plamenova Ignatova (Bulgarian: Ружа Пламенова Игнатова, romanized: Ruža Plamenova Ignatova, occasionally transliterated as "Ruga Ignatova"; born 30 May 1980)[2] is a Bulgarian-born German entrepreneur who in 2019 was convicted of fraud. She is best known as the founder of a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme known as OneCoin, which The Times has described as "one of the biggest scams in history".[3][4][5] She is the subject of the 2019 BBC podcast series The Missing Cryptoqueen and the 2022 book of the same name.[6][7]
Since 2017, Ignatova has been on the run from various international law enforcement agencies. In early 2019, she was charged in absentia by U.S. authorities for wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. She was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted in June 2022.[3][8] Ignatova is the subject of an international Interpol warrant by German authorities.[9]
- ^ "Продължава издирването на 41-годишна германска гражданка, родена у нас" [Search continues for 41-year-old German national born in Bulgaria]. MOI Press Office. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Kristen Young (October 6, 2019). "OneCoin defendant seeks to suppress statements made to federal agents". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ a b "Cryptoqueen: How this woman scammed the world, then ran". BBC. November 24, 2019.
- ^ Cellan-Jones, Rory (September 26, 2019). "The mystery of the disappearing 'Cryptoqueen'". BBC.
- ^ Bartlett, Jamie (December 15, 2019). "The £4bn OneCoin scam: how crypto-queen Dr Ruja Ignatova duped ordinary people out of billions — then went missing". The Times.
- ^ Morris, David Z (November 6, 2019). "Is OneCoin The Biggest Financial Fraud in History?". Fortune. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
- ^ Bartlett, Jamie (June 7, 2022). The Missing Cryptoqueen: The Billion Dollar Cryptocurrency Con and the Woman Who Got Away with It. New York: Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0-306-82916-1.
- ^ "Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Leaders Of "OneCoin," A Multibillion-Dollar Pyramid Scheme Involving The Sale Of A Fraudulent Cryptocurrency". U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. March 9, 2019.
- ^ "View Red Notices". www.interpol.int. Retrieved August 9, 2023.