Foreign media: Missing OneCoin 'encryption queen' Ruja Ignatova may be hiding in Russia

CoinVoice has learned that, according to Decrypt, Ruja Ignatova, the missing ‘encryption queen,’ may be hiding in Russia to avoid criminal charges, according to a BBC investigative reporter who specializes in Kremlin affairs. Yoran Tsalov, who also works for Bellingcat, told the media that Ignatova ‘has connections to several people and interest groups in the Kremlin.’

Tsalov claimed that these connections were confirmed by Ignatova’s former security advisor Frank Schneider in an interview with BBC, which is part of BBC’s investigation and podcast series ‘The Missing Encryption Queen’. Schneider was a former spy in Switzerland and later founded a private investigation company, and was employed by OneCoin. Due to his involvement in the operation, he was placed under house arrest in France and then went into hiding in 2023. In addition, Tsalov claimed that the ongoing investigation by BBC confirmed that some companies involved in OneCoin Money Laundering had connections to former pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. Yanukovich is currently living in exile in Russia.

It is reported that OneCoin was launched in 2014, and Ignatova defrauded investors worldwide through a $4 billion Ponzi Scheme. It was not until 2017 that the eyewash was exposed and she disappeared. Her last appearance was in 2017 when she was flying on a plane from Bulgaria to Athens, Greece, and was listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. [Original Article Link]