The FBI continues its global search for Ruja Ignatova, the Bulgarian businesswoman accused of masterminding one of the largest financial scams in history. Known as the “Cryptoqueen,” Ignatova is alleged to have defrauded investors of more than four and a half billion dollars through a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme called OneCoin, which operated between 2014 and 2017.
Investigators say the scheme targeted investors across multiple continents, including the United Kingdom, where an estimated one hundred million pounds was lost. Promoted as a revolutionary digital currency, OneCoin promised massive returns and marketed itself as a rival to Bitcoin. In reality, prosecutors later determined it had no blockchain technology and existed solely to funnel money from new recruits into the hands of its founders and promoters.
Ignatova, a highly educated former corporate lawyer with degrees from Oxford and the University of Konstanz, co-founded the company with several associates. For three years, she appeared at international conferences, dressed in designer clothes and presenting herself as the face of the next financial revolution. Behind the scenes, however, authorities allege she and her team were running a global pyramid scheme that collapsed as regulators began to close in.
In October 2017, Ignatova boarded a Ryanair flight from Sofia to Athens and vanished shortly after landing. She has not been seen since. Law enforcement agencies believe she may have used a German passport to travel to multiple countries, including Greece, the United Arab Emirates, and possibly Eastern Europe. There have been no confirmed sightings, and her disappearance has fueled years of speculation about whether she remains alive or has gone into hiding under a new identity.
The FBI added Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 2022, offering a reward of up to five million dollars for information leading to her arrest. The Bureau has said she is known to travel with armed bodyguards and may have undergone plastic surgery or other procedures to disguise her appearance. Despite global efforts, including coordination with Europol and Interpol, her whereabouts remain unknown.
Several of Ignatova’s former associates have since been arrested and convicted. In the United States, senior OneCoin figure Karl Sebastian Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. In Germany, Ignatova’s brother, Konstantin Ignatov, cooperated with authorities after his arrest, providing key testimony that detailed how the operation defrauded millions of investors through false promises and fake account balances.
Authorities believe OneCoin generated at least four and a half billion dollars in fraudulent proceeds from victims in more than one hundred countries. The money was moved through a complex web of shell companies, offshore accounts, and intermediaries, making recovery efforts extremely difficult. Large portions of the funds are still unaccounted for.
Ruja Ignatova’s disappearance remains one of the most enduring mysteries in the cryptocurrency world. Her case has been the subject of international documentaries and podcasts, and investigators continue to receive periodic tips, though none have led to a breakthrough. The FBI says she should be considered armed and dangerous, and anyone with credible information is urged to contact law enforcement.
Nearly eight years after she vanished, the self-styled Cryptoqueen remains at large, accused of orchestrating a scam that devastated investors and exposed the dark side of the cryptocurrency boom. For investigators, the trail has grown cold — but the global manhunt continues for one of the most wanted fugitives in modern financial history.