The OneCoin affair, and the escape of one of the masterminds of the scam Ruja Ignatova, had inflamed the crypto community in 2017. But it seems that the fugitive has been caught up unawares. Bulgarian investigators are indeed claiming that the “CryptoQueen” was murdered in 2018.
Ruja Ignatova is believed to have died since 2018
The information was revealed following the publication of documents related to another case. Bulgarian journalists from Bird were indeed able to look into information collected following a corruption case and a related murder. They reveal that CryptoQueen Ruja Ignatova was allegedly murdered on the orders of a drug baron, Christophoros Amanaditi, or Taki. The links between the two were already established, but these new documents shed light on one of the most enduring mysteries of the cryptocurrency world.
The murderer is believed to be one of Ignatova’s associates, but was not named in the report. The murder is said to have taken place on Christophoros Amanaditi’s yacht, and the culprits are said to have disposed of the body in the Ionian Sea. The woman who was nicknamed “CryptoQueen” was believed to be on the run since 2017, and was added to the FBI’s 10 most wanted list last summer
Ruja Ignatova, a.k.a. ‘Cryptoqueen’, has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for allegedly defrauding investors of more than $4 billion through the OneCoin cryptocurrency company pic.twitter.com/fUL5Dmic46
– US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) June 30, 2022UVXW
This shows that the case was far from over, and that the hunt for Ruja Ignatova remained a priority for the authorities concerned.
The CrytoQueen myth continues to generate reactions
In total, those behind the pyramid scheme OneCoin would have walked away with $4 billion. But at what price? In addition to the alleged murder of Ruja Ignatova, her brother and accomplice Konstantin Ignatov was caught up in the justice system: he pleaded guilty in 2019.
Considered to be the person who stole the largest sum of cryptos, the CryptoQueen had also been the subject of film and television adaptation projects. Kate Winslet had signed up for a film about the OneCoin affair, called “Fake! A TV series was also planned. More recently, Channel 4 has confirmed that it is working on a documentary on the subject.
The Office of the Public Prosecutor contacted the journalists who brought the documents to light, and judged them to be unverified by an expert. So they won’t trigger a murder investigation… yet. It is likely that we will not hear the last of the OneCoin case, and Ruja Ignatova.
