On November 27, PANews reported, according to Decrypt, that a BBC investigative journalist focused on Kremlin affairs reported that the missing 'Crypto Queen' Ruja Ignatova may be hiding in Russia to evade criminal charges. Yoran Tsalov, who also works for Bellingcat, revealed to the media that Ignatova 'has connections with multiple individuals and interest groups in the Kremlin.'
Tsalov claims that these connections were confirmed during an interview with Ignatova's former security advisor Frank Schneider, which was part of the BBC's 'Missing Crypto Queen' investigation and podcast series. Schneider was a spy in Switzerland before founding a private investigation firm and was hired by OneCoin. Due to his association with the operation, he was placed under house arrest in France and subsequently went into hiding in 2023. Additionally, Tsalov claims that the ongoing BBC investigation confirms that some companies laundering money through OneCoin are connected to former pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who is currently living in exile in Russia.
It is reported that OneCoin was launched in 2014, and Ignatova defrauded investors worldwide through a $4 billion Ponzi scheme until the scheme collapsed in 2017, when she went missing. Her last appearance was in 2017, when she was on a flight escaping Bulgaria to Athens, Greece, and she was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
