The United Kingdom’s High Court of Justice issued a Worldwide Freezing Order against Ruja Ignatova, known as the “Cryptoqueen,” and several of her alleged accomplices involved in the OneCoin scheme.
Based on BBC report On August 7, over 400 victims of the OneCoin collapse united to petition for the freezing of assets belonging to Ignatova, OneCoin co-founder Sebastian Greenwood, Christopher Hamilton, and Robert MacDonald.
These individuals are suspected of laundering funds for OneCoin, with additional scrutiny placed on four influencers who promoted the fraudulent scheme to the public. The order also included four influencers who promoted OneCoin to the public and various business entities used by Ignatova to launder money and purchase assets.
Ruja Ignatova is alleged to have defrauded investors in a $4 billion Ponzi scheme from OneCoin’s inception in 2014 until its collapse in 2017, which coincided with her disappearance.
According to a recent report, she was last seen in Athens, Greece, and has since eluded authorities, leading the FBI to include her on their Ten Most Wanted list. In a bid to capture her, the U.S. State Department announced a $5 million reward for information leading to her arrest and conviction in January 2024, but her whereabouts remain unknown.
Several of Ignatova’s associates have faced legal consequences including her brother, Konstantin Ignatov, who pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud in 2019.
Although he was Initially facing a 90-year sentence, he was later released after three years due to his cooperation with U.S. investigators, which included testifying against OneCoin lawyer Mark Scott.
Scott was convicted of bank fraud and money laundering but received a lighter sentence than the 17 years sought by prosecutors.
Karl Greenwood, OneCoin’s co-founder, was found guilty in 2023 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was also ordered to forfeit $300 million received from the fraudulent scheme.
Also Read: India’s ED Hunts Down Leh Ladakh’s $876K Crypto Scam
