A Bulgarian woman allegedly behind a non-existent multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency called OneCoin has been added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.
On Thursday, the FBI put Roja Ignatova on the list in an effort to catch her. US authorities have been seeking her arrest since 2017 for allegedly running a massive pyramid scheme by deceiving people into investing in the OneCoin cryptocurrency.
The FBI said in Advertising(Opens in a new window).
Ignatova allegedly started the scheme around 2014 when she founded OneCoin, which she then promoted to investors around the world. Ignatova, who calls herself “Cryptoqueen,” has gone so far as to claim that OneCoin will one day replace Bitcoin as the main virtual currency. At the same time, she recruited employees, who worked on commission, to help her promote OneCoin to potential investors, thus setting up a pyramid scheme.
However, her company has never actually created a blockchain to run OneCoin, according to(Opens in a new window) for BBC. However, Ignatova’s scheme succeeded in deceiving many people into investing in the company with the promise that they would generate huge returns. records took over(Opens in a new window) From OneCoin shows that it generated 3.35 billion euros in sales and 2.2 billion euros in profits between 2014 and 2016.
Recommended by our editors
In October 2017, Ignatova disappeared as her company continued to delay the crypto exchange designated for OneCoin. That same month, the United States issued a warrant for her arrest after a federal grand jury issued an indictment.
According to the FBI, Ignatova was last seen on a flight from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece. The agency is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for any information leading to her arrest. Meanwhile, television networks in Europe plan(Opens in a new window) A documentary called cipher queen About the exploits of Ignatova.
Like what are you reading?
sign for Security Monitor A newsletter of our top privacy and security stories delivered straight to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertisements, deals or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your agreement to Terms of use And the privacy policy. You can unsubscribe from newsletters at any time.
