Langgam Pos - The High Court of England has issued an order to freeze all assets belonging to Cryptoqueen Ruja Ignatova and several of her alleged accomplices involved in the OneCoin scheme.
The High Court of England has taken action to freeze the assets of Cryptoqueen Ruja Ignatova and several of her associates suspected of being involved in the OneCoin scheme.
Over 400 victims of the OneCoin scandal have come together to petition the court to freeze the assets of Ignatova, OneCoin co-founder Sebastian Greenwood, Christopher Hamilton, and Robert MacDonald, who are accused of laundering funds on behalf of OneCoin, along with four influencers who promoted OneCoin to the public. Additionally, businesses believed to have been used by Ignatova to launder money from OneCoin and acquire assets are also targeted by asset freezes worldwide.
According to Cointelegraph, Ruja Ignatova is alleged to have defrauded investors in a $4 billion Ponzi scheme from the inception of OneCoin in 2014 until the project's collapse in 2017, and her subsequent disappearance. The Cryptoqueen was last seen in Athens, Greece, in 2017 and has not been seen since, prompting the FBI to place her on its Ten Most Wanted list.
In January 2024, the U.S. Department of State offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Ignatova's capture and conviction. Despite this, credible sightings of Ignatova remain elusive, and the Cryptoqueen's whereabouts are still unknown.
Ruja's brother, Konstantin Ignatov, pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud in 2019. The OneCoin accomplice faced a maximum sentence of 90 years in prison for his role in the Ponzi scheme. However, he was released after three years and sentenced according to his time served after cooperating with U.S. investigators and testifying against OneCoin attorney Mark Scott in court.
In 2019, Scott was found guilty of bank fraud and money laundering charges and received a lighter sentence than the 17 years recommended by U.S. prosecutors. OneCoin co-founder Karl Greenwood was also convicted in 2023 and sentenced to 20 years for his involvement in the scheme. Greenwood was also ordered to forfeit $300 million he received from facilitating the OneCoin fraud.
(*)
