Who is Cryptoqueen Ruja Ignatova? Why is there multi-million dollar bounty?

The FBI is on the lookout for Ruja Ignatova who is popularly known as the cryptoqueen. She has been on the FBI’s most wanted list since 2022 for fraud and money laundering. Bulgaria has also announced its decision to prosecute her in absentia. Her whereabouts are not known. This appears to be a case out of a crime thriller. According to the investigation agencies, she is known to change her appearances and move about in various cities across the world. It has been reported that she disappeared in 2017.

Who is Ruja Ignatova?

The 43 year old woman has been accused of committing grave financial crimes. She is a Bulgarian born German citizen. She founded One Coin in 2014 in Sofia. This is a fake crypto currency. The agency which had previously offered a reward of $100,000 for her capture increased this amount to £4 million.

The FBI reported that she travels on a German passport. When the agency put out an alert, she is believed to have escaped with a large amount of cash. Her last known flight journey was from Sofia to Athens in Greece in 2017. This was after bugging a flat belonging to her American boyfriend whom she suspected of cooperating with the FBI. It has also been reported that she underwent a plastic surgery and she also frequently changes her appearance.

Crimes:

She has been accused of cheating her investors to the tune of $4 billion by selling fake cryptocurrency. On Wednesday, the Bulgarian public prosecutor said that the country will initiating charges against her. She will be tried for her alleged crimes in absentia. Her One Coin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and he was also ordered to pay back $300 million back to the investors.

FAQs
Is Ruja Ignatova alive?
There were rumors that she was killed by the Bulgarian mafia. There are no reports on her whereabouts to date.

What is the business model of One Coin?
The company followed a pyramid model. It offered commissions to members who brought other customers to purchase their cryptocurrency.