Cryptocurrency scams continue to multiply as more projects are published and more investors enter the crypto marketplace.
Best know as the “Cryptoqueen”, Ruja Ignatova was one of the co-founders of OneCoin, a massive cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme which defrauded millions of investors worldwide of close to $16 billion.
Created in the early days of crypto back in 2014, OneCoin promised to be a “Bitcoin killer” and part of the global payment revolution.
Ruja Ignatova made global tours promoting OneCoin, inviting people to invest, purchase educational crypto trading courses, and earn commission for bringing in new investors.
Despite all the promises, the reality was far less enticing. For starters, OneCoin had no actual blockchain on which to operate, meaning that the coin was not actively traded, and was impossible to use for purchases as there was no payment system around it.
At the peak of its activity, OneCoin claimed to have more than three million members worldwide.
In 2016, numerous countries started to suspect OneCoin of being a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme, better known as a pyramid scheme.
As a wave of investigations arose worldwide, Ruja Ignatova mysteriously vanished, and the self-proclaimed “Cryptoqueen” has not been seen in public since October 2017.
Her partners, and OneCoin co-founders, Mark Scott and Konstantin Ignatov, the brother of Cryptoqueen, were arrested by U.S. Federal officers months later, and have both been charged of wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering.
With Europol’s decision to add Ruja Ignatova to Europe’s most wanted list, it seems that the global search for the Cryptoqueen is expanding. Law enforcement agencies have even offered rewards of up to 5,000 EUR for any individuals who may have information leading to the arrest of the crypto scam legend.
