Ruja Ignatova
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anchored·uAGo1J…LAB6Summary
Ruja Ignatova, known as the 'Cryptoqueen,' is the Bulgaria-born German co-founder of OneCoin, a fraudulent pyramid scheme that defrauded approximately 3.5 million victims of more than $4 billion between 2014 and 2019. Indicted in 2017 by a U.S. grand jury on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and securities fraud, she fled law enforcement in October 2017 and remains a fugitive. She is currently an FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive with a $5 million reward for information leading to her arrest.
Connected Entities
1 entities- + 10 more
Timeline(20 events)
30 May 1980
Ruja Ignatova born in Ruse, Bulgaria.
1990
Ignatova family emigrates to Germany following the fall of the Iron Curtain.
2005
Ignatova completes PhD in private international law at the University of Konstanz; also holds an Oxford Master's degree in European and Comparative Law.
2012
Convicted of fraud in Germany in connection with a company acquisition involving her father; receives a 14-month suspended sentence.
2014
Co-founds OneCoin Ltd. in Sofia, Bulgaria, alongside Karl Sebastian Greenwood, launching the global MLM-based fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.
11 June 2016
Hosts a large promotional event for OneCoin investors at Wembley Arena, London, presenting herself as 'Dr. Ruja' and marketing OneCoin as the 'Bitcoin killer.'
12 October 2017
Grand jury in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, indicts Ignatova on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
25 October 2017
Ignatova boards a Ryanair flight from Sofia to Athens, Greece, and disappears; she has not been seen publicly since. She was scheduled to address investors in Lisbon on this date.
February 2018
Superseding indictment filed in SDNY adds charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud.
July 2018
Karl Sebastian Greenwood arrested in Thailand.
March 2019
Konstantin Ignatov, Ruja's brother and OneCoin's de facto CEO after her disappearance, arrested at Los Angeles International Airport.
12 November 2019
Konstantin Ignatov's guilty plea to fraud and money laundering charges made public; he faces up to 90 years in prison but cooperated with authorities.
25 November 2019
Attorney Mark Scott convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud for laundering over $400 million in OneCoin proceeds.
June 2022
FBI adds Ruja Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list; initial reward of $250,000 offered.
December 2022
Karl Sebastian Greenwood pleads guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money.
April 2023
Mark Scott sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit approximately $393 million.
13 September 2023
Karl Sebastian Greenwood sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $300 million by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.
June 2024
FBI reward for information leading to Ignatova's arrest increased from $250,000 to $5,000,000. U.S. Department of State also lists reward under Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program.
November 2025
Prosecutors trace alleged Ignatova assets to two London luxury properties valued at approximately £11.4 million, sold via shell companies in Guernsey.
14 April 2026
U.S. Department of Justice opens formal $40 million victim compensation claims process, administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, with a June 30, 2026 deadline.
Decision Log
- hash: CdQrtmLQKjRt2cnz9gNRkL85i9W8mzB2teakrx7TRfgY
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 event). 0 of 21 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/30/2026, 6:25:44 PM
last updated: 8/29/2026, 1:33:44 AM
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