In life and in 'death', Ruja Ignatova continues to baffle many. The OneCoin founder, also known as the 'Crypto Queen', vanished without a trace around this time in 2017, never to be seen or heard from again.
Ignatova is the only woman on the FBI's top 10 most wanted criminals list. This Bulgarian woman is believed to be in her late 40s and is wanted for her role in OneCoin, the cryptocurrency scam she co-founded in September 2014.
The FBI alleges that Ignatova defrauded participants in OneCoin out of $4.5 billion. The scheme had all the elements of a Ponzi. It used network marketing and commissions to gain popularity. People who referred new buyers to the platform received commissions.
The Crypto Queen 'outsmarted' investigators
Seven years after the month Ignatova was last known, the chances of finding her seem very slim as she continues to evade capture. There are several hypotheses regarding the current location of the Crypto Queen.
One hypothesis suggests she is living luxuriously in Dubai or somewhere in Southeast Asia, possibly in Thailand. This was hinted at in a special BBC podcast released by Jamie Bartlett in October 2022.
At that time, the BBC had obtained documents showing that Ignatova had worked with Sheikh Faisal bin Sultan Al Qassimi, a member of the royal family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to unfreeze funds suspected of being involved in money laundering.
According to the podcast, Ignatova is said to have purchased a $20 million villa in the UAE, where she may have been hiding for over half a decade now.
The BBC also discovered that she had secured a multimillion-dollar deal with Emirati royal Sheik Saoud, a well-known cryptocurrency enthusiast. In 2015, he reportedly sold 230,000 Bitcoins worth $22.5 billion at current prices to Ignatova. At that time, BTC was valued at nearly $48 million.
There are suggestions that Ignatova purchased intelligence from Bulgarian police. Observers say this could explain why she has outsmarted investigators for the past seven years, according to the BBC.
'Murder' is the worst crime.
Another hypothesis suggests that the Crypto Queen was murdered on the orders of a dangerous Bulgarian drug lord she hired for protection, according to a BBC investigation released in June this year.
Accomplices of Ignatova's mafia bodyguard, Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis, believe he killed her due to the unwanted attention her case brought him, the report stated.
According to the BBC, the Crypto Queen paid Amanatidis, a drug dealer allegedly linked to murders and armed robberies, about $100,000 a month for protection. Amanatidis is also known by the nickname 'Taki.'
Dimitar Stoyanov, a Bulgarian investigative journalist who was the first to report on this murder with colleagues in 2022, shared with the broadcaster:
"Some people have to be eliminated because they know too much about Taki. It's a kind of public execution that looks more like a statement. Be careful with those you trade with."
A 2022 report by Stoyanov for the news agency Bird.bg mentioned a police report obtained from the home of a Bulgarian police officer who was murdered in 2022.
The report details the account of an informant to the police regarding Taki's drunken brother-in-law claiming that Ignatova was murdered on Taki's orders in late 2018. The report further states that after this alleged murder, Ignatova's body was dismembered and thrown off a yacht in the Ionian Sea.
Bulgarian officials confirmed the authenticity of the police document to the BBC. Bird reporter Stoyanov pointed to the high likelihood of the story, but also mentioned that this report might have been planted to prevent agencies from worrying about the Crypto Queen's record.
A close ally of Taki named Krasimir Kamenov reportedly informed the CIA in 2022 about Taki and his involvement in Ignatova's murder. A year later, he was murdered in Cape Town, South Africa, along with his wife and two associates, an incident also linked to Taki.
Ignatova's body has never been found, and Taki, who EU law enforcement agency Europol suspects used the OneCoin financial network to launder drug money, has never been arrested for the alleged murder.
In fact, another perspective speculates that both Taki and Ignatova are living in Dubai. Sources told the BBC that the two have a close personal relationship and Taki is the godfather of Ignatova's daughter.
Ruja Ignatova may currently be a man.
In November 2022, TradingPedia speculated that the Crypto Queen had changed her gender to avoid attention, according to another hypothesis.
The platform has released a catalog of eight faces that Ignatova may have used as part of her evasion strategy from law enforcement. A sketch suggests she may currently be a man, with short hair and a beard.
It's hard to formulate which theory is the most accurate. However, some people do not rule out the possibility that Ignatova is still alive.
Brian McColl, an analyst at TradingPedia who leads the research on Ignatova, previously stated that the fact she is wanted by the FBI and Europol indicates that these agencies believe the fraudster is still alive.
German police: 'There is no murder. She is still alive.'
This opinion is supported by German authorities. According to a report published by the German newspaper Der Spiegel earlier this month, Ignatova may still be alive and residing in a wealthy area of Cape Town, South Africa, under the strict protection of private security companies.
Reports indicate that German police found inconsistencies in the evidence against Taki, Ignatova's former head of security. German authorities have been investigating the OneCoin scam and Ignatova for years. Ignatova also holds German citizenship.
Police dismiss the theory of Ignatova's death, pointing to evidence that her alleged murderer was in custody in the Netherlands when the supposed 'murder' occurred. Details will be revealed in an upcoming documentary.
According to a report by Der Spiegel, Sabine Dässel, spokesperson for the German LKA Düsseldorf criminal investigation unit, stated:
"We believe or work with the hypothesis that Ruja Ignatova is still alive. This is also supported by the reactions from her family, whom Ignatova has always kept in close contact with. The daughter and sister are not mourned by family members, so it is clear that there is no information about Ruja Ignatova's death within the family. There is no murder. She is still alive, period."
Dässel added that police had received information suggesting Ignatova was hiding in Cape Town. German filmmaker Johan von Mirbach, who is making a documentary about Ignatova, stated that his team received information about her whereabouts from South African security sources.
The police are also relying on the testimony of former OneCoin employee Duncan Arthur, who denies the allegations regarding Ignatova's death. Arthur claims that Ignatova remained in contact with her brother Konstantin long after the date she was alleged to have been murdered, Der Spiegel reported.
Better than Bitcoin
Ruja Ignatova attracted millions of unsuspecting investors by marketing OneCoin as a Bitcoin alternative that would reward early adopters. This Oxford graduate sold a Ponzi scheme without using a public digital ledger like legitimate cryptocurrencies.
Three years after OneCoin launched in 2014, the Crypto Queen fled Sofia to Athens as US and German authorities moved in to dismantle her pyramid scheme. She has been off the radar since then, although her accomplices continue to be arrested and extradited.
The FBI is offering a $5 million reward for anyone with information leading to her arrest. Ignatova is a criminal mastermind. A mystery.
