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Cryptocurrency: OneCoin’s Ruja Ignatova reportedly found after five years in hiding for massive $4B fraud

Photo by: Art Rachen/Unsplash

Ruja Ignatova is a German citizen that has been convicted of fraud after stealing $4 billion and then vanished years ago. She has founded OneCoin crypto firm, which has been described as a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.

Ignatova is a fugitive that has been on the run since being charged with various offenses related to her OneCoin operations. She is on the FBI’s list of most-wanted, and since her disappearance, no one has ever spotted her.

However, in recent developments, it appeared that she has finally surfaced and is confirmed to be alive. It was reported that it was the fraudster herself who had given herself away after a big mistake.

According to News.com.au, it was a property listing that pushed Ignatova to come out of her hiding place. She reportedly appeared to claim one of her properties, a penthouse apartment located in London. The property was said to have been listed for sale with an asking price of £12.5 and later reduced to £11 million.

It is believed that the ‘crypto queen’ bought the apartment using a company name. However, a new rule has been imposed, and it means the beneficiary of the said company must also be named.

Because of this, lawyers who are representing Ignatova visited the office to claim the property. In a filing with the financial regulator in the U.K., her name was listed as the property’s beneficial owner.

Jamie Bartlett, an investigative reporter, was said to be the first to notice the link between the fugitive and the London apartment. He said that now that the connection has been confirmed, this discovery could be a breakthrough in the crypto fraud that robbed thousands of people.

“The world’s most wanted woman is now officially listed as the ultimate beneficial owner of a London penthouse,” Bartlett told a news outlet, iNews. “It suggests she is still alive, and there are documents out there somewhere which contain vital clues as to her recent whereabouts.

He added, “If nothing else it should make it easier for the authorities to freeze that asset – and maybe even start getting money back to victims.”

Meanwhile, CNN Business reported that Ignatova labeled herself as the crypto queen at a time when “cryptocurrency” was the emerging buzzword in June 2016. She opened OneCoin, but a year and a half later, she flew out of Bulgaria and has not been heard from since.

Photo by: Art Rachen/Unsplash

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