Missing 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova has assets frozen by UK court

In an Aug. 7 ruling, the United Kingdom’s High Court of Justice issued a Worldwide Freezing Order against Ruja Ignatova, popularly known as the “Cryptoqueen,” and several of her alleged accomplices in the OneCoin scheme.

More than 400 victims of the OneCoin collapse came together to petition the court to freeze the assets of Ignatova, OneCoin co-founder Sebastian Greenwood, Christopher Hamilton, and Robert MacDonald, who are alleged to have helped launder funds on behalf of OneCoin, and four influencers who advertised OneCoin to the public.

Additionally, business entities Ignatova allegedly used to launder funds from OneCoin and purchase assets have also been subjected to the worldwide asset freeze.

The saga of the Cryptoqueen

Ruja Ignatova is alleged to have defrauded investors in an apparent $4 billion Ponzi scheme from the inception of Onecoin in 2014 until the 2017 collapse of the fraudulent project and the disappearance of Ignatova. The Cryptoqueen was last seen in Athens, Greece in 2017 and has not been seen since, prompting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to place her on their  Ten Most Wanted list.

In January 2024, the United States State Department began offering a  $5 million reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of Ignatova, though alleged sightings of Ignatova remain elusive, and the whereabouts of the Cryptoqueen likewise remain unknown.

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OneCoin accomplices face justice

Konstantin Ignatov, Ruja’s brother,  pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud in 2019. The OneCoin accomplice faced a maximum sentence of 90 years behind bars for his role in the Ponzi scheme but was  freed after three years and sentenced to time served after cooperating with US investigators and testifying against OneCoin lawyer Mark Scott in court.

In 2019, Scott was  found guilty on charges related to bank fraud and money laundering. , a much lighter sentence than the 17 years US prosecutors argued was appropriate.

OneCoin co-founder Karl Greenwood was also found guilty in 2023 and received a  20-year sentence for his role in the scheme. Greenwood was also forced to surrender the $300 million in payments he received from facilitating the OneCoin fraud.

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