Dr Rija Ignatova, the Bulgarian woman wanted for her alleged role in the OneCoin crypto scam, has been added by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Missing since 2017, Ignatova has been accused by the federal investigators of using a fraudulent scheme to dupe victims out of over $4 billion. As cryptocurrencies are slowly gaining recognition around the world, crypto scams are also becoming a grave concern for investors, regulators, and law enforcement agencies alike.
A self-proclaimed ‘cryptoqueen,’ Ignatova is the founder of the OneCoin cryptocurrency that was launched in 2014. She defrauded investors for over three years before disappearing. In May, Europol added her to Europe’s most wanted list as well.
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For any information leading up to Ignatova’s arrest, the FBI has put up $100,000 as a reward. As per the investigators, OneCoin was promoted by Ignatova and her partner via a multi-level marketing strategy that offered buyers a commission if they sold the crypto coin to more people. The FBI said that OneCoin doesn’t have any value and was never safeguarded by blockchain technology, which is the base platform for all other cryptocurrencies.
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Ignatova is the only woman on FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
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