The founder of one of the most scandalous cryptocurrency pyramids, OneCoin, Ruzsa Ignatova, may be dead.
For the past few years, journalists from BBC Eye Investigations and Panorama have been trying to figure out what happened to the “crypto queen.” Recently they got on the trail the person who was responsible for the safety of Ruzha Ignatova.
“Crypto Queen” and her mysterious bodyguard
One of the key characters in the history of OneCoin and the “crypto queen” is Christoforos Nikos Amanatidis, known as Taki. Initially, it was known that he worked as Ignatova’s bodyguard.
However, as BBC journalists found out, Taki is an influential crime boss in Bulgaria with connections to organized crime and drug trafficking. According to the investigation, Ignatova could have been killed on his orders. In support of this version, the authors cited Europol documents and evidence from several sources.
According to leaked Europol documents seen by journalists, before Ignatova disappeared in 2017, Bulgarian police established a connection between her and Taki. Law enforcement authorities believed that he used OneCoin to launder drug money.
It is not known for certain how Taki and Ignatova met and whether he was involved in the crypto pyramid. However, many sources of the publication claim that there was a very close relationship between them. Some even noted that Taki was the godfather of Ignatova’s daughter.
One Bulgarian source told the BBC that the “crypto queen” may have paid Taki up to €100,000 a month for protection.
Conspiracy and possible murder
In 2022, Bulgarian investigative journalist Dimitar Stoyanov gained access to one of the police reports concerning Ignatova. It said that the “crypto queen” had been killed.
FBI wanted notice for Ruja Ignatova. Source: FBI
According to the report, Taki’s wife’s brother, while intoxicated, told police that Ignatova’s body was dumped in the Ionian Sea at the end of 2018 on the orders of her “bodyguard.”
The BBC noted that they were unable to conduct an independent investigation to confirm the version of the murder of the founder of OneCoin. However, many of Taki's criminal associates believe in this theory, claiming that Ignatova has become a burden to him.
Journalists also found evidence that after the “crypto queen” disappeared, some of her properties came under the control of Taki or people associated with him.
Most Wanted
The OneCoin project appeared in 2014. The creators positioned it as a revolutionary solution to financial problems. However, the “revolution” turned out to be a fraud.
In October 2017, law enforcement agencies in Germany and the United States almost arrested Ignatova for major financial fraud. But the founder of the crypto pyramid managed to escape. After the morning flight from Sofia to Athens, no one saw her again.
Ignatova is now one of the top 10 criminals wanted by the FBI. The agency is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for any information that leads to her arrest. The “Crypto Queen” has also become Europol’s most wanted criminal.
Source: Cryptocurrency
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