The Cryptoqueen’s ‘OneCoin’ is wanted by FBI

She called herself the Cryptoqueen and touted her new digital currency, OneCoin, as the next big thing.

But after convincing investors around the world to send her $4 billion, federal prosecutors say Ruja Ignatova quietly hopped a flight to Greece and disappeared.

OneCoin, authorities say, was a scam. On Thursday, the FBI placed the alleged fraudster on the 10 Most Wanted list, days after Europol did the same.

At a news conference Thursday, Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, called her an international fugitive who allegedly masterminded a world fraud. She sits on the Top 10 list with cartel leaders, murderers and terrorists, side by side, Williams said. That isn't an accident. OneCoin was one of the largest pyramid schemes in modern history, according to authorities. Although Ignatova claimed it was backed by a blockchain, prosecutors said there was no — she made up the price. The coins were not traded.

When the Justice Department unveiled its indictment against Ignatova in 2019, FBI Assistant Director-in-Chief William Sweeney Jr. said OneCoin was a criptocurrency that existed only in the minds of its creators and their co-conspirators. Unlike authentic cryptocurrencies, OneCoin had no real value. It offered investors no way of tracing their money, and it could not be used to purchase anything. Its founders and co-conspirators were the only ones who stood to benefit from its existence. Ignatova, now 42, was a resident of Sofia, Bulgaria before she fled. She is charged with one count of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with each count carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Court records show she lived a lavish lifestyle while the alleged fraud took place, and steered money into everything from real estate in Belgrade, Serbia, to race horses in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, to an oil field in Madagascar.

Mike Driscoll, FBI assistant director in charge of the New York office, said he's confident we'll find her.

Her brother Konstantin Ignatov, who also ran the business for a time, pleaded guilty to multiple felonies in 2019 and is free on bond while he awaits sentencing.

Another OneCoin co-founder, Sebastian Greenwood, is in jail awaiting trial on fraud charges. Mark Scott, a once prominent lawyer who worked for OneCoin, was convicted of money laundering and awaits sentencing.

According to court testimony by The Wall Street Journal, Ignatova s boyfriend was cooperating with authorities, and when she discovered that she fled.