Authorities have ordered a freeze on the assets of the FBI’s most wanted woman – a Bulgarian-born scammer known as the "Cryptoqueen," who orchestrated crypto fraud worth over $4 billion.
London’s High Court ordered on Wednesday to freeze the assets of Ruja Ignatova, also known as the Missing Cryptoqueen. This will prevent her assets from being sold or moved.
Starting in 2014, the woman founded a crypto scam called OneCoin that marketed cryptocurrency investments and eventually defrauded $4.5 billion from its victims. She allegedly instructed victims to transmit investment funds to OneCoin accounts to purchase OneCoin packages, asking them to send via wire transfer.
In 2017, US authorities charged the “Cryptoqueen” with money laundering and fraud. The FBI offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the scammer. The woman has been on the run for the last six years, successfully avoiding law enforcement. Her last sighting was stepping out of an airplane in Athens, Greece. She then vanished into thin air.
A BBC investigation in June revealed that Ignatova has ties with Bulgarian organized crime and drug networks, who might have backed her escape. Some unverified sources suggest that the “Cryptoqueen” might be long dead at the hands of the same crooks that she turned to for protection.
The current legal action was brought on behalf of 400 OneCoin investors seeking compensation. The asset freeze will target not only Ignatova but also seven other individuals and four companies allegedly linked to OneCoin. This includes OneCoin co-founder Sebastian Greenwood, who’s currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in the US for his role in the fraud.
British businessmen Christopher Hamilton and Robert MacDonald will also be affected. They’re accused by US authorities of laundering OneCoin proceeds, though extradition attempts have been unsuccessful.
The assets of the two companies in Guernsey, a tax haven, will also be frozen. The companies were involved in purchasing a $17.23 million Kensington penthouse and a $2.42 million apartment for Ignatova's bodyguards.
The order also impacts OneCoin promoters Kari Wahlroos, Muhammad Zafar, Moynul Islam, and Monirul Islam, who are alleged to have profited from recruiting investors, despite potential losses from OneCoin's collapse and Ignatova's flight.
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