US Government Offers $5 mil Reward for Info on Missing ‘Cryptoqueen’ Behind Infamous OneCoin Scheme

The U.S. Department of State is offering up to $5,000,000 in rewards for information on one of crypto's biggest mysteries. In a statement, the government says it's looking for information from the public that would lead to the arrest and/or conviction of German national Ruja Ignatova, one of the key players behind the OneCoin scheme.

Ignatova, a Bulgarian woman known as the "Cryptoqueen," started OneCoin in 2014 and operated the company as a multi-level marketing (MLM) network. She falsely claimed the project maintained a private blockchain, and the fraud reportedly lured in more than 3.5 million victims, defrauding them of roughly $4 billion. In November of this year, Irina Dilkinska, OneCoin's "head of compliance," pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering arising from her involvement with the project. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos later sentenced Dilkinska to four years in prison. With Ignatova now missing for over seven years, many question whether she's even still alive. A February 2023 report from BIRD, a Bulgarian investigative journalism outlet, indicated she may have been murdered at the order of suspected drug lord Hristoforos 'Taki' Amanatidis. A new report from the BBC indicates US government lawyers believe Ignatova employed Amanatidis as her head of security. A different US government lawyer reportedly said in court that the head of security was "involved in the disappearance" of Ignatova. The BBC also reports that leaked Europol documents indicate police suspect Taki used OneCoin's financial network to launder drug money. Those willing to provide the FBI information on Ignatova can do so through several channels.