Odaily Planet Daily News According to a BBC investigative reporter focused on Kremlin affairs, the missing 'Crypto Queen' Ruja Ignatova may be hiding in Russia to evade criminal charges. She founded a fraudulent cryptocurrency pyramid scheme called OneCoin, which is believed to have defrauded investors of approximately $4 billion. She disappeared in 2017 and has not been publicly seen since. Another journalist, Yoran Tsalov, revealed that Ignatova is 'connected to several individuals and interest groups within the Kremlin.' Tsalov claims that these connections were confirmed during an interview with Ignatova's former security advisor, Frank Schneider. Schneider was a spy in Switzerland, later founded a private investigation company, and was hired by OneCoin. Due to his association with the operation, he was placed under house arrest in France and subsequently went on the run starting in 2023. Additionally, Tsalov stated that the ongoing BBC investigation confirms that some companies involved in money laundering through OneCoin are linked to former pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich. In 2019, Ukraine's Supreme Court convicted Yanukovich of treason in absentia and sentenced him to 13 years in prison. He is widely believed to have acquired a vast network of overseas assets through corrupt means. (Decrypt)