German investigators sell Crypto Queen’s house, Ignatova is still missing
Ruja Ignatova, aka the Crypto Queen, has resurfaced after more than five years in hiding. The OneCoin founder is linked to a British government filing for a London property. However, her actual location is still unknown. Meanwhile, BBC claims that German prosecutors are behind the bid for the property.
Ruja’s London property was listed for sale
Ruja Ignatova’s London property was recently listed for sale for $15.5 million. The amount was later lowered to $13.6 million, and now the ad is no longer there. According to BBC, real estate agent Knight Frank responsible for the property sale did not reveal whether it had been sold.
Ignatova was identified as the owner per UK transparency rules that went into effect last year. The report also shows that Ignatova has been the property owner since May 2016 through Aboots House Penthouse Limited.
BBC has found that Ignatova was not selling the property herself. Instead, it was initiated by the prosecutors in the north-west German city of Bielefeld. According to the BBC, the German attorney for Ms. Ignatova, Martin Breidenbach, was accused of money laundering for transferring €20 million (£17.5 million) to pay for the penthouse and a second apartment in the same building. Breidenbach rejects the accusations in an ongoing trial.
Senior prosecutor Gerald Ruebsam told BBC that any proceeds of the sale of the London penthouse might one day compensate OneCoin victims.
OneCoin Founder is still nowhere to be seen
Ignatova has not been publicly seen for over five years. The OneCoin founder is currently on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list, and the FBI is offering a reward of $100,000 for any information that can lead to her arrest. She is also one of Europe’s most high-profile fugitives.
The ‘Cryptoqueen’ launched her company Onecoin in 2014, with the hype that the company would be the bitcoin (BTC) killer. However, after investigating the company dealing, the FBI discovered that the project was a Ponzi scheme meant to scam unsuspecting investors millions of dollars.
The FBI also discovered that OneCoin did not even have a network for the token. Ms. Ignatova managed to con investors more than $5 billion in the Ponzi scheme.
Other Onecoin associates have been arrested
Fortunately, other people associated with the Ponzi scheme have been arrested. Last month Karl Sebastian Greenwood, the co-founder, pled guilty to money laundering and wire fraud charges laid against him by the southern district prosecutor of New York.
Frank Schneider, a former Luxembourg intelligence officer, will also face money laundering charges and wire fraud upon his extradition to the US. He is believed to have helped crypto queen evade law enforcement and manage the scheme’s proceeds.
In an interview, Frank Schneider said that his private intelligence company was only responsible for managing the crisis. He was unaware of any criminal activities in the scheme when he was involved with the company.
