OneCoin fraud

Investigators secure 10 million euros from the “crypto queen”

Ruja Ignatova is alleged to have defrauded investors worldwide of billions of euros.

(Bild: facebook.com/OneCoinOfficialPage)

The public prosecutor's office in Bielefeld has secured more than ten million euros from the assets of the fraudster Ruja Ignatova, who has been on the run since 2017. The "crypto queen" is alleged to have orchestrated a fraud scheme with the fictitious digital currency "OneCoin" and defrauded investors worldwide of billions of euros.

The public prosecutor's office for white-collar crime investigating Ignatova in Germany now wants to recover part of this for investors from the East Westphalia-Lippe region, as reported on Thursday. According to the information, it concerns two luxury properties in London that Ignatova had bought for 20 million euros via trust companies.

Around ten million euros have been realized and secured through the sale of these now somewhat worn-out penthouse apartments. The money is held in an account at the Royal Bank of Scotland. We've "got our thumb on it", according to the central public prosecutor's office. The economic investigators are certain that they will be able to prove that the money for the apartments came from the more than 17,000 investors who were defrauded via a company based in Greven in Münsterland.

The "crypto queen" has been the subject of a worldwide manhunt for years.

(Bild: fbi.gov)

Long road to the money
In order for the German public prosecutor's office to have access to the money, however, a complex procedure is necessary. The first step is the so-called independent confiscation procedure. The public prosecutor's office has now applied to the Bielefeld Regional Court for the confiscation of 20 million euros. Over the next few weeks, the court will examine whether the conditions for this are met.

The public prosecutor's office must then apply for the money to be transferred to Germany in legal assistance proceedings. Only if this is successful can bruised applicants come forward. Until then, however, it will still take months, it was said.

In hiding for years
In October 2017, Ignatova was charged in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. A federal arrest warrant was issued against her. Investigators believe that Ignatova may have received a tip that the authorities were investigating her. She traveled from Sofia to Athens on October 25, 2017 and has not been seen since. Since then, the FBI, Interpol and the German BKA have been searching for her.

So far, three of Ruja Ignatova's accomplices have been convicted of aiding and abetting commercial fraud and money laundering by the Münster Regional Court in January of this year. The court handed down prison sentences of between just under three and five years. The defendants are alleged to have collected around 320 million euros from investors throughout Europe. An appeal against the sentences has been lodged with the Federal Supreme Court.