FBI ups reward to CAD 6.8 million for "Cryptoqueen" Ruja Ignatova
The reward for help in locating Ruja Ignatova has increased from CAD 340,000 to CAD 6.8 million. The Bulgarian-born German is known as the "Cryptoqueen." She created the cryptocurrency company OneCoin, gained investor trust, collected billions of dollars, and then disappeared.
44-year-old Ruja Ignatova was born in Bulgaria but holds German citizenship. She is suspected of defrauding investors of money.
Ignatova established the investment firm OneCoin and announced the creation of a new cryptocurrency that was to compete with Bitcoin. "OneCoin would be the ‘Bitcoin killer,'" promised Ignatova. The educated, charismatic German quickly gained investor confidence. She defrauded them of over CAD 5.4 billion.
In 2017, the woman boarded a plane from Sofia, Bulgaria to Athens, Greece. After that, she vanished without a trace. Despite years passing, the "Cryptoqueen" remains elusive. Two years ago, Ignatova was added to the FBI's top ten most wanted list. She ranked alongside murderers and gang leaders (she is the only woman on the list).
The search for the "Cryptoqueen". FBI offers CAD 6.8 million
Not long ago, the FBI offered CAD 136,000, then CAD 342,000, for information leading to Ignatova's arrest. The U.S. Department of State announced the reward has increased to CAD 6.8 million! For comparison, that is the same amount offered for information about the head of one of the largest drug cartels in Europe.
We are offering a reward of up to $5 million (CAD 6.8 million) for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of German national Ruja Ignatova, known as 'Cryptoqueen,' for her role in one of the largest global fraud schemes in history, - said U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller, quoted by BBC.
The new reward is part of the State Department's Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program.
Jamie Bartlett, a British journalist following the case, believes the increase in the reward aims to reach those who likely continue to protect Ignatova. Those who know the woman claim that she offers large amounts of money for silence.
"$100,000 (CAD 136,000) wouldn’t persuade a junior member of a crime syndicate or a personal bodyguard to call the FBI’s hotline - it’s far too risky. But $5m (CAD 6,8m) just might," - assesses the journalist.
