Investors in the fraudulent cryptocurrency OneCoin obtained several worldwide freezing orders at the High Court in London on Thursday as they attempt to claw back funds from the $4 billion scam.
OneCoin co-founder and so-called Cryptoqueen Ruja Ignatova was hit by the asset freeze.
Jonathan Levy, a lawyer who represents OneCoin victims in the US, said it’s unclear if the freezing order will have any immediate effect.
“A freezing order does not translate into assets unless there are assets to freeze,” he told DL News, adding that some of the targets appear to be low-level operatives or people with no assets.
Launched in late 2014, OneCoin pitched itself as a rival to Bitcoin.
It defrauded investors of an estimated $4 billion by marketing and peddling its fraudulent cryptocurrency, authorities say.
OneCoin resembled a pyramid scheme by selling educational courses on crypto trading and investing and offering buyers rewards for bringing in more participants, according to US prosecutors.
Implicated in the freezing order is Ignatova’s accomplice Sebastian Karl Greenwood, who a US court handed a 20-year sentence in September.
Companies owned by Ignatova, several that promoted OneCoin, and two British individuals who are alleged to have laundered significant proceeds from the fraud were also hit.
“Known asset holders in Dubai, Germany and Bulgaria, like Sheikh Al Qassimi and Ruja’s mother and husband, do not appear subject to the order,” Levy said.
A decade-long case
The development is the latest turn in the almost decade-long case, which involves a colourful cast of players, from the US Federal Bureau of Investigations to the Bulgarian mob.
In February 2023, a report from the Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data uncovered testimony claiming that Ignatova was killed in November 2018 on the orders of Bulgarian mafia member Christophoros Amanatidis.
Although Ignatova hasn’t been seen since she stepped off a Ryanair flight in Athens earlier that year, Levy doesn’t believe she’s dead.
And neither do US authorities. The FBI still offers a reward of up to $5 million for any information that leads to the arrest of the Crypto Queen
UK investors seek recourse
It may be some time before victims of OneCoin are reimbursed — if ever.
Still, the group of investors who obtained the freezing order are happy with the progress.
The group is represented by international law firm Mishcon de Reya.
“The claim in the High Court in London aims to achieve redress for those investors who were taken in by the deception and who suffered losses as a result,” Rhymal Persad, a partner at Mishcon de Reya, said in a press release.
A Mischcon de Reya spokesperson told DL News that the proceedings in the High Court will now progress through a litigation process. The group has invited other eligible OneCoin investors to join the High Court claim.
‘There’s about $2 billion out there’
It’s not known, however, what the value of assets implicated by the freeze is worth.
Out of the estimated $4 billion stolen through OneCoin, much of the money has fallen through the cracks over the years.
But not all of it.
“I’ve talked to at least one major OneCoin figure and they confirm there’s about $2 billion out there,” Levy previously told DL News.
There’s also the issue of the 230,000 Bitcoin Ignatova made off with when she disappeared.
At current prices, that stash is worth some $13.3 billion.
Have a tip about crypto crime? Contact the author at tim@dlnews.com.
