FBI offers R90m reward for fugitive Ruja Ignatova, suspected of hiding in SA
Ruja Ignatova, known as the ‘CryptoQueen,’ was previously believed to be dead but is now suspected to be alive and hiding in Cape Town.
The FBI is offering a $5 million (around R90 million) reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of Ruja Ignatova, one of its most-wanted fugitives.
Ruja Ignatova, also referred to as “CryptoQueen”, is wanted for her alleged participation in a large-scale fraud scheme. At the beginning of 2014, Ignatova and others allegedly defrauded billions of dollars from investors worldwide.
FBI’S MOST-WANTED RUJA IGNATOVA ALLEGEDLY HIDING IN SA
Ignatova founded OneCoin Ltd, a Bulgaria-based company that marketed a purported cryptocurrency. To execute the scheme, Ignatova allegedly made false statements and representations to individuals to solicit investments in OneCoin.
She allegedly instructed victims to transmit investment funds to OneCoin accounts to purchase OneCoin packages, causing victims to send wire transfers representing these investments. Throughout the scheme, OneCoin is believed to have defrauded victims out of more than $4 billion, the FBI said.
“Ruja Ignatova served as OneCoin’s top leader through October 2017. On October 25, 2017, Ignatova traveled from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, and may have traveled elsewhere,” the FBI said.
UNDERWORLD FIGURE MURDERED IN CONSTANTIA
In May 2023, The South African reported that the two men and two women who were shot dead in Constantia, Cape Town were Bulgarian underworld figure, Krasimir Kamenov, his wife, and the couple’s bodyguard and nanny.
Kamenov had been recently added to the Interpol Red Notice list as he was wanted for murder and extortion in his home country at the time.
Following the shooting, reports surfaced that Ignatova was one of the victims. However, earlier this month, German publication Der Spiegel reported that police in the country suspected that previous reports of Ignatova’s death were false and that they were following leads in South Africa.
A spokesperson for the State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia, Daniela Dässel, told the Daily Maverick that due to a lack of solid information or evidence to the contrary, it was assumed that Ruja Ignatova is alive, and the search is continuing.