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New York Post
Glamorous ‘Cryptoqueen’ in $4B Ponzi scheme has $5M bounty on her head — and hasn’t been seen in 7 years
By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon,
2 days ago
A glamorous jet-setting fugitive known as the “Cryptoqueen” who oversaw a $4 billion Ponzi scheme akin to Bernie Madoff now has a $5 million bounty on her head, the FBI announced Thursday .
Ruja Ignatova , an Oxford University-educated Bulgarian national charged with wooing unsuspecting clients to spend fortunes on worthless cryptocurrency, remains one of the FBI’s most elusive “Most Wanted” suspects after dodging international authorities for seven years.
“She may travel on a German passport to the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Greece and/or Eastern Europe,” the feds said — a nod to how slippery the accused crafty criminal has been since last being spotted in 2017.
The brunette braniac, who has a penchant for blood-red lipstick, is believed to be traveling with armed guards or associates — and may have had plastic surgery to alter her appearance, the FBI added.
“Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova has been on the run since 2017 after the FBI says she bilked investors out of $4 billion in a massive Ponzi scheme. Dr.RujaIgnatova/Facebook
Ignatova has claimed her birth date is May 30, 1980, making her 44 years old, the agency said. It added that she speaks three languages, English, German and Bulgarian.
“Ignatova was the founder of OneCoin Ltd., a Bulgaria-based company that marketed a purported cryptocurrency,” the feds said in a statement.
“In order to execute the scheme, Ignatova allegedly made false statements and representations to individuals in order to solicit investments in OneCoin. Throughout the scheme, OneCoin is believed to have defrauded victims out of more than $4 billion.”
The suspect reportedly grew up dirt poor in Bulgaria, where her father worked in a tire shop — and where she developed her obsession for money.
At her height, her properties included a penthouse in the posh Kensington section of London and a more than $7 million “superyacht” dubbed the “Davina.”
Ignatova was last spotted Oct. 25, 2017, when she took a commercial flight from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece — and has been in the wind since, federal authorities said.
Her wingman, Swedish national Karl Greenwood, was tracked down and hit with a 20-year sentence in US District Court in Manhattan last year after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.
Greenwood pocketed more than $300 million in the cryptocurrency scam and used it to fund a lavish lifestyle that included the purchase of a Sunseeker yacht — until he was busted in Thailand in 2018.
Ignatova’s former OneCoin partner, Karl Greenwood, was hit with a 20-year prison sentence in Manhattan last year. Dr.RujaIgnatova/Facebook
At his sentencing, US District Judge Edgardo Ramos likened the OneCoin scam to the Madoff debacle, calling it as “massive in many respects.”
Ignatova was added to the FBI Most Wanted list and remains a fugitive after seven years on the run. REUTERS
Ignatova is no dummy — despite her now notorious status, she was once described as a brilliant student who earned a scholarship to the prestigious Konstanz University, considered the “Harvard of Germany,” and went on to earn a master’s degree in comparative European Law from Oxford University.
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