A few days ago, the FBI shared that it has added Ruja Ignatova, dubbed ‘cryptoqueen’, to its ten most wanted fugitives list. This woman is on the run after she is accused of taking part in a large-scale bitcoin fraud scam.
Information leading to her arrest is eligible for a reward of up to $100,000. Here’s everything you need to know about Crypto Queen and the scam she pulled that put her on the FBI’s most-wanted list.
Bulgarian-born Ignatova came to Germany at the age of 10 with her family. As a graduate of Oxford University and the University of Konstanz, she has a Ph.D. in private international law.
She is also said to have worked at McKinsey & Co. Ignatova is fluent in English, German, and Bulgarian, as well as a few other languages.
It was in 2014 that Ignatova introduced OneCoin, a virtual currency designed to replace Bitcoin. OneCoin claims to have at least three million investors throughout the globe, including in the United States.
OneCoin, on the other hand, was not backed by a public, secure, and decentralized blockchain-type technology like Bitcoin or other virtual assets.
Although, according to the FBI, OneCoin Ltd., situated in Bulgaria, claimed to have a private blockchain. However, it was impossible to use the false money to purchase anything since it had no actual value.
In fact, the FBI has now labeled OneCoin an “international pyramid scheme” because of its fast ascent. The OneCoin two-year anniversary celebration was conducted in 2016.
