The United States Department of State has raised the reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of Ruja Ignatova, the founder of OneCoin. This update to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) “ten most wanted fugitives” list, through the State Department’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, now offers a $5 million bounty for actionable intelligence on Ignatova’s location that results in her arrest and subsequent conviction. Ignatova was last confirmed to be in Athens in October 2017.
Initially placed on the FBI’s top ten list in June 2022 with a $100,000 reward, the bounty was increased to $250,000 in 2023. Despite these efforts, Ignatova, known to hold a German passport and potentially having altered her appearance through plastic surgery, remains at large as of the latest update.
In 2017, Ignatova faced charges of fraud and money laundering by U.S. authorities, who issued a federal warrant for her arrest. The severity of the situation was underscored by a joint statement on June 26, where U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria Kenneth Merten and Bulgaria’s Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov announced Ignatova’s forthcoming trial in absentia in Bulgaria.
OneCoin, founded in 2014, was exposed in 2015 as a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that defrauded investors of approximately $4 billion. Several individuals linked to the scheme have been prosecuted, including Ignatova’s boyfriend Gilbert Armenta, lawyer Mark Scott, former head of legal and compliance Irina Dilkinska, co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood, and William Morro.
Konstantin Ignatov, Ignatova’s brother, pleaded guilty in 2019 to charges of fraud and money laundering related to his involvement in OneCoin. He served 34 months in prison before his release in March 2024.
The search for Ruja Ignatova continues to be a focal point in international law enforcement efforts, reflecting the widespread impact and complexity of the OneCoin scandal.
