The woman has been identified as Ruja Ignatova, a native of Bulgaria. Authorities from multiple countries are searching for her, as she faces charges related to a $4.5 billion (Rs 38,000 crore) scam. The FBI has declared her a ‘fugitive.’ Ruja was last seen at Athens airport in Greece, and it is believed she may be in Russia. She is also known as the ‘Cryptoqueen.’
Cryptocurrency is back in the headlines as Bitcoin and other digital currencies see a surge in demand. A woman is wanted in the United States for fleeing with cryptocurrencies worth crores, and the police have announced a cash reward of Rs 42 crore for anyone who provides information on her whereabouts.
The woman has been identified as Ruja Ignatova, a native of Bulgaria. Authorities from multiple countries are searching for her, as she faces charges related to a $4.5 billion (Rs 38,000 crore) scam. The FBI has declared her a ‘fugitive.’ Ruja was last seen at Athens airport in Greece, and it is believed she may be in Russia. She is also known as the ‘Cryptoqueen.’
Ruja left Bulgaria at the age of 10 and moved to Germany. She did her PhD in 2005 from a German University. A few media reports claimed that she had also attended Oxford university too.
Ruja has been named in several scams but her name cropped up in the biggest scam of cryptocurrency. She founded Onecoin Limited in 2014. She launched a cryptocurrency named Onecoin. She launched a pyramid scheme under this cryptocurrency while asking people to invest in it.
She convinced people by making false promises and presented fake investors before the public who talked in favour of the scheme. She offered different packages for the sake of investment. Around 400 investors fell trapped in her scheme and they invested over $4.5 billion. In 2017, Ruja fled with the investors’ money.
Now, no one has an idea about her whereabouts for the last seven years. One last time was seen when she travelled from Bulgaria’ Sophia to Athens in Greece.
Ruja is facing criminal cases of fraud and money laundering in the United States. The FBI has issued an arrest warrant against her. The US has put a reward of Rs 42 crores on her head. Ruja’s properties have been freezed by the authorities. However, the investors yet did not get their money back. A few media reports suggested that she was murdered in 2018 but no confirmation has been given by the police in this regard.