Ruja Ignatova. The assets of the fraudster behind OneCoin have been frozen

Ruja Ignatova, known as the “missing crypto queen,” is currently under a global asset freeze order that prevents her assets from being sold or transferred. She has not been seen since stepping off a Ryanair flight in Athens, the capital, more than six years ago. Greece.

In June, the BBC revealed her links to the Bulgarian underworld and a man suspected of being the head of a criminal group who was involved in her disappearance.

Investors who fell for the OneCoin cryptocurrency have attempted to recover their money, but their efforts have been unsuccessful. As has the search for Ingatova. The FBI is currently offering a $5 million reward for information leading to her arrest.

The freezing order, made Wednesday at the High Court in London, forms part of a class action brought by more than 400 people who bought OneCoin. The claimants are represented by Jennifer McAdam, who said she, her friends and family lost more than £200,000 in the OneCoin scam.

“I have witnessed the toll this fraud has had on so many people's lives. The stories of the victims are heartbreaking and the financial devastation it has left behind is unbearable,” she told the BBC.

McAdam, originally from Scotlandfirst shared her story in 2019 on the BBC podcast Missing Cryptoqueen. Like others from the United States and Ugandainterviewed convinced their closest friends and family to invest before realizing it was a scam.

The BBC estimates that OneCoin investors lost over £100 million in the UK alone.

“The claim remains open at this time, so claimants can still join it,” said Rhymal Persad, a partner at Mishcon de Reya, which represents the victims. “Only those investors who sign the claim will be eligible to receive the funds that are recovered,” he said.

The freezing order applies not only to Ignatova, but also to seven other individuals and four companies – all linked in some form to OneCoin.

They include OneCoin co-founder Sebastian Greenwood, who is in a US prison serving a 20-year sentence for his role in the fraud. The BBC reports that the assets of British businessmen Christopher Hamilton and Robert MacDonald, who appeared in court in London, are also subject to freezing. Both are accused by the authorities USAbut attempts to extradite them to the United States have proven unsuccessful.

Also frozen are the assets of two Guernsey companies which, as revealed by the BBC in 2021, were used by Ignatova to buy a penthouse in Kensington for £13.5m and a £1.9m apartment in the same building for her bodyguards.

The assets of OneCoin’s promoters (Kari Wahlroos, Muhammad Zafar, Moynul Islam and Monirul Islam) are also subject to a freeze, according to the British public broadcaster. Although they, like the investors, may have suffered losses when OneCoin collapsed and Ignatova fled. They are alleged to have made significant sums by recruiting more investors.