Documents seen by the Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD) contain an agent report that alleges that Ruja Ignatova ‘CryptoQueen,’ one of two Co-Founders of OneCoin, the multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency pyramid scheme, was killed on a yacht in Greece in November 2018. Ignatova’s body was allegedly dismembered and tossed into the Ionian Sea.
According to the report, the said murder was allegedly executed on behalf of Christoforos ‘Taki’ Amanatidis, an infamous drug lord. Georgi Georgiev Vasilev, a Bulgarian national and a brother-in-law of Amanatidis, allegedly revealed this during a state of intoxication.
BIRD said the documents containing the allegations are parts of materials retrieved at the home of a former top Bulgarian cop, Lyubomir Ivanov, who was murdered in March last year. The investigative journalism organisation also linked the agent reports to disciplinary cases of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior.
“The Prosecutor's Office knows about the documents, but does not consider the documents within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code and so far does not investigate either the data on the murder of Ruzha Ignatova…,” BIRD explained in part in its investigative report, as translated by Google.
Commenting on the revelation translated from Bulgarian, Crypto Xpose, a Twitter account focused on shedding light on OneCoin, noted that while the alleged murder is “possible, there’s no real proof" that the murder happened.
Ignatova Mentioned in London Property Purchase
The new details emerge at the same time reports say Ignatova, who has been on the run since 2017, has resurfaced as the beneficial owner of a real estate property purchased in Kensington in London. Ignatova is reportedly the owner of a shell company which purchased the property and listed her as a beneficial owner, in accordance with UK rules. However, a BBC report traced the development to prosecutors in the German city of Bielefeld.
The property was put up for sale by property retailer Knight Frank, initially priced at £12.5 million ($15.5 million) but later reduced to £11 million ($13.24 million). However, following media reports of Ignatova’s connection to the house, the property was delisted.
A Multi-Billion Dollar Crypto Scam
Ignatova alongside Sebastian Greenwood launched OneCoin cryptocurrency in 2014 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The coin was promoted as a future ‘Bitcoin killer’ and marketed through global multi-level marketing. As a result, the project was able to garner subscribers from over 175 countries.
US court documents show that the pyramid scheme boasted as high as three million users during its peak, generating a revenue of about $4 billion between 2014 and 2016. However, prosecutors are trying to get justice for the victims. In May last year, Europol added Ignatova to the list of Europe's most wanted fugitives.
Furthermore, Ignatova’s Co-Founder, Greenwood, was arrested in July 2018 in Thailand where he was extradited to the United States. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in April this year.
