Cryptoqueen: How this woman scammed the world, then vanished

[Jam]

Ruja Ignatova called herself the Cryptoqueen. She told people she had invented a cryptocurrency to rival Bitcoin, and persuaded them to invest billions. Then, two years ago, she disappeared. Jamie Bartlett spent months investigating how she did it for the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, and trying to figure out where she's hiding.

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OneCoin, Dr Ruja told the Wembley audience, was the "Bitcoin Killer". "In two years, nobody will speak about Bitcoin any more!" she shouted.

All over the world, people were already investing their savings into OneCoin, hoping to be part of this new revolution. Documents leaked to the BBC show that British people spent almost €30m on OneCoin in the first six months of 2016, €2m of it in a single week - and the rate of investment could have increased after the Wembley extravaganza. Between August 2014 and March 2017 more than €4bn was invested in dozens of countries. From Pakistan to Brazil, from Hong Kong to Norway, from Canada to Yemen… even Palestine.

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But there was something wrong. In early October 2016 - four months after Dr Ruja's London appearance - a blockchain expert called Bjorn Bjercke was called by a recruitment agent, with a curious job offer. A cryptocurrency start-up from Bulgaria was looking for a chief technical officer. Bjercke would get an apartment and a car - and an attractive annual salary of about £250,000.

"I was thinking: 'What is my job going to be? What are the things that I'm going to have to do for this company?'" he recalls.

"And he said: 'Well, first of all, they need a blockchain. They don't have a blockchain today.'

"I said: 'What? You told me it was a cryptocurrency company.'"

The agent replied that this was correct. It was a cryptocurrency company, and it had been running for a while - but it didn't have a blockchain. "So we need you to build a blockchain," he went on.

"What's the name of the company?" asked Bjercke.

"It's OneCoin."

He didn't take the job.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-50435014

Only quoted from the beginning of the article, I'd heavily recommend people give this a read.

MLM is an absolute scourge, the most morally bankrupt form of business that is built entirely on manipulating people. Cryptocurrency was the perfect "product" for this to flourish, new whirlwind business that made people millions but was impenetrable to the lay-man made convincing people easy pickings.

Some of my biggest takeaways:

• Even after things all came to light people were still investing and OneCoin was still making money. The change of focus from western countries to Africa and the Middle East as a strategy.
• How easy it is to sell a dream.
• How someone in her position, of her wealth and fame as well as infamy to the law, can not only vanish but seemingly still globetrot between locations.

 

[Deleted member 20284]

These crypto stories are a bitcoin a dozen.

 

[Z-Beat]

Jen McAdam has a fiery Skype call with cryptocurrency enthusiast Tim Curry

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That caption threw me for a fucking loop, it did

Everyone knows Tim Curry escaped to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by cryptocurrency

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Where in the world is Ruja Ignatova

 

[Akira86]

lol if a journalist with a podcast can find her, so can hitmen and recovery specialists.

 

[V23]

All cryptocurrency is a scam. When it's no longer worthwhile for the scammers/whales to manipulate it for their gain, bitcoin is going to burn a lot of people.

 

[Deleted member 2802]

All cryptocurrency is a scam. When it's no longer worthwhile for the scammers/whales to manipulate it for their gain, bitcoin is going to burn a lot of people.

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Don't the whales/scammers own like 90% of it?

 

[V23]

Don't the whales/scammers own like 90% of it?

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95% of the market activity is reportedly fake.

 

[Blackflag]

I've been listening to the podcast. Crazy story and crazy how stupid people are to get caught up in these scams

 

[Deleted member 2802]

95% of the market activity is reportedly fake.

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🤯

 

[Jam]

For what it's worth I do think Cryptocurrency has a place and value, just not yet and it is currently literally just a fad but an emerging technology we're going to see gradually better implemented.

 

[Aegus]

Meh. If the people being scammed were scummy investors already then it's just moving money around from one crook to another.

 

[Cipherr]

I wonder if we will ever get like... a documentary or something on Bitconnect. I havent even heard of OneCoin, but Bitconnect took a lot of money from a LOT of people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCcwn6bGUtU

It became a meme in the entire community with folks telling investors to stop putting their money in that garbage. But there was no getting through to them with folks near the top of the pyramid creating successful Youtube channels showing off their earnings and whatnot (all those channels are of course now closed, and some were sued).

The day the company called it quits and split and run with all those peoples money was unreal. The subreddits were BRUTALLY cruel to the people that got burned because of how much warning they were given. It was schadenfreude central. My god man.

 

[AstralTurfWarrior]

Meh. If the people being scammed were scummy investors already then it's just moving money around from one crook to another.

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A lot of the people here were normal common people who thought this was the next Bitcoin.

 

[ByteCulture]

Just shows me that most people or most investors doesnt even know what they are doing. They are just blinded by doing quick money and then getting scammed.

Come on... this platform raised like 4 billion and didnt had a single proof of "Crypto Currency" available the whole time. They never had any "Crypto Currency" at all. Well i guess you get what you ask for. 4 billion for "One Coin".

People need to start investing in real blockchain solutions that everyone can use. The "Crypto Currency" market is overcrowded now anyway. In Switzerland there are almost only "Crypto Exchange Platforms" who took all the "Investment Ressources" of Switzerland.

Our own blockchain solution is about to be ready, we launch soon and it can be used by all companies and industries world wide.

 

[Jam]

Meh. If the people being scammed were scummy investors already then it's just moving money around from one crook to another.

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...everyone who invests in something is scummy? I don't even know where to begin with this.

 

[Hulohot]

Unfortunately there are bad actors in every space, but especially in Digital Assets. You just need to be super careful where you put your money.

These people just rushed in emotionally thinking they'd be rich fast and have paid the price.

The overall Cryptocurrency market will rise again eventually, and the technology is here to stay. As global institutions continue to adopt this digital asset model, there will only be more and more stories like this coming to light.

 

[Aegus]

...everyone who invests in something is scummy? I don't even know where to begin with this.

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Okay. The subset of investors who are scummy are just transferring their money to another scummy person.

But the investors in this were as dumb as a sack of shit. Investing in something with no idea of what it is? Yeah that's dumb. I'm saying that for all of them.

 

[Deleted member 1659]

Pretty sure he's banned now but there was an era user here who was using the Cryptoera OT thread to run scams and pump and dumps on people. Don't wanna say his name because it was Drifters.

 

[Acorn]

This is available as a podcast series too, from the BBC as well.

 

[show me your skeleton]

people should do what i do and trade exclusively in skeletons

 

[Komo]

Pretty sure he's banned now but there was an era user here who was using the Cryptoera OT thread to run scams and pump and dumps on people. Don't wanna say his name because it was Drifters.

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Yeah this is commonplace to pump n dump crypto.

 

[Santerestil]

95% of the market activity is reportedly fake.

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And even that 5% true is shady as fuck.

 

[DCPat]

So they stopped searching after somebody told them they will find her eventually in Frankfurt? Or is this part still to come. Or has she fled?

Anyways, very bitter for the people who lost their money. It's so bizarre to see people on farmland Uganda trusting this and putting their savings into it. I feel more sorry for them than the UK woman.

 

[Geoff]

A lot of the people here were normal common people who thought this was the next Bitcoin.

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Not just 'normal people' in the sense of them being relatively well-off westerners. OneCoin targeted places in the third world where people had less information about bitcoin cam. Villages in Africa pooling their cash to invest etc

I haven't read the article but heard an interview with the people behind the podcast.

 

[Acorn]

people should do what i do and trade exclusively in skeletons

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What to do you do with all the flesh though

 

[show me your skeleton]

What to do you do with all the flesh though

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[Fisty]

What to do you do with all the flesh though

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Food for future skeleton crops, gotta grow em up so the bones get big. $$$

 

[jman912]

Misread the title and thought she did this

 

[Slayven]

It seems if you can get in certain doors there are rich people just willing to give you stupid money for the right buzzwords

lol if a journalist with a podcast can find her, so can hitmen and recovery specialists.

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For real, 4 billy? Somebody is looking

 

[DiipuSurotu]

UPDATE:

'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova added to FBI most-wanted list over OneCoin scheme | CNN Business

A German citizen accused of defrauding investors out of $4 billion by selling a fake cryptocurrency called OneCoin has been added to the FBI's list of its ten most-wanted fugitives, US officials said on Thursday.

edition.cnn.com

A German citizen accused of defrauding investors out of $4 billion by selling a fake cryptocurrency called OneCoin has been added to the FBI's list of its ten most-wanted fugitives, US officials said on Thursday.

Ruja Ignatova, also known as "Cryptoqueen," was charged in 2019 with eight counts including wire fraud and securities fraud for running the Bulgaria-based OneCoin Ltd as a pyramid scheme. Prosecutors say the company offered commissions for members to entice others to buy a worthless cryptocurrency.
"She timed her scheme perfectly, capitalizing on the frenzied speculation of the early days of cryptocurrency," said Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan.

Williams described OneCoin as "one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history."

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[TheBaldEmperor]

OneCon

 

[halcali]

She was last seen in Frankfurt, iirc.

BBC has a great investigative podcast which attempts to track her.

 

[dean_rcg]

MLM is an absolute scourge, the most morally bankrupt form of business that is built entirely on manipulating people. Cryptocurrency was the perfect "product" for this to flourish, new whirlwind business that made people millions but was impenetrable to the lay-man made convincing people easy pickings.

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yeah, this could never happen with normal money. You can criticize crypto all you like but the total related fraud is a tiny fraction of that from trad money

 

[Rhowm]

The FBI just added her to the "10 most wanted" list

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/fbi...ten-most-wanted-fugitives-list-for-fraud.html

 

[Tobor]

One con artist on the run is great, but I won't be truly happy until the FBI is breaking down doors looking for apes.

 

[PeskyToaster]

Sounds like she just did what everyone in crypto did.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

The FBI just added her to the "10 most wanted" list

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/fbi...ten-most-wanted-fugitives-list-for-fraud.html

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UPDATE:

'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova added to FBI most-wanted list over OneCoin scheme | CNN Business

A German citizen accused of defrauding investors out of $4 billion by selling a fake cryptocurrency called OneCoin has been added to the FBI's list of its ten most-wanted fugitives, US officials said on Thursday.

edition.cnn.com

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[Muppet of a Man]

Amazing how the world was collectively entranced by all this bullshit for the last ten years. How did people not see through it from the beginning? I feel like a lot of people knew crypto was more of a get rich quick scheme than not, but there are so many con artists in the world today that they joined in on the con rather than having the courage to call it out.

 

[Xyer]

This lady is taking up a spot with murderers and terrorists on the top 10 most wanted?

Truly don't fuck with rich people I guess.

 

[Koukalaka]

She was last seen in Frankfurt, iirc.

BBC has a great investigative podcast which attempts to track her.

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I second this recommendation, it's absolutely worth a listen - also has an original score by a Bulgarian choir, which you can't say about many other podcasts!

 

[Koukalaka]

This lady is taking up a spot with murderers and terrorists on the top 10 most wanted?

Truly don't fuck with rich people I guess.

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The tragedy here is that many of the people scammed were incredibly poor, ordinary people that often poured their savings into this - it was a truly global pyramid scheme where folks went from village-to-village to sell the scam.

 

[Jam]

yeah, this could never happen with normal money. You can criticize crypto all you like but the total related fraud is a tiny fraction of that from trad money

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Joke post?

Of course the value of crypto fraud is far far below the value of fraud in traditional currencies. Maybe you aren't aware but generally the global economy uses traditional currencies and crypto is relatively new and is multitudes smaller in volume and use.

Value of fraud is higher in traditional currencies. The scale of fraud is exponentially higher in crypto currencies.

 

[deimosmasque]

Actually that's an interesting stastical point what is the percentage per "dollar" of financial fraud of crypto vs the percentage per "dollar" of financial fraud of traditional currency?

I don't think I've seen those numbers before. Because if you go by raw numbers, yeah traditional currency is going to look horrible.

But if you go by the percentage of the currency out there vs the amount of fraud it might paint a different picture.

I don't know if it does. I just find it any interesting data point I've never seen.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Amazing how the world was collectively entranced by all this bullshit for the last ten years. How did people not see through it from the beginning? I feel like a lot of people knew crypto was more of a get rich quick scheme than not, but there are so many con artists in the world today that they joined in on the con rather than having the courage to call it out.

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It's the combination of people wanting to get rich and #FOMO. It's effectively pyramid schemes/MLMs for the new generation

 

[Muppet of a Man]

It's the combination of people wanting to get rich and #FOMO. It's effectively pyramid schemes/MLMs for the new generation

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Definitely. 100% agree. We all need to call it out sooner though. It has a real negative material impact on the world at this scale. We need to allocate these resources to solving huge real world issues like global warming. This hardware would have been better used in super computers arrays, solving complex science and engineering problems to make it so that we can live into the future in a habitable environment. Instead, we got trillions of dollars of powerful hardware diverted into a global Ponzi scheme, all while exacerbating global warming, illicit/black market activities, and wealth inequality. It's like the perfect nightmare at exactly the worst time it could have happened.

 

[Sunnz]

I doubt she will be found.

Super rich so a full facial reconstruction, new ID and probably owns an island and all forms of transport...

She's living it up I bet.

 

[Jam]

I doubt she will be found.

Super rich so a full facial reconstruction, new ID and probably owns an island and all forms of transport...

She's living it up I bet.

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Nah, chances are someone already found her.

I haven't followed the BBC investigation tracing her closely to the end but my assumption would be the wrong people have already found her. I can't see a clean cut and run happening in this day in age when she has scammed the people that she has.

Investment funds, criminal enterprise, the works - those are the kinds of people you don't want to make enemies of.