The former head of legal and compliance at OneCoin faces up to 10 years in prison for her role in the $4 billion crypto trading scheme.
Lawyer Involved In Cryptoqueen’s OneCoin Scam Receives Shocking Response From Court
The OneCoin scam saga has continued to linger despite it being years since it took place, and this time around, a lawyer who was involved in the pyramid scheme has received a rather shocking response from the court.
OneCoin Lawyer Denied Retrial
According to a report by Bloomberg, a US court has denied Mark Scott’s request to be granted a new trial. The lawyer is said to have helped launder $400 million as part of the proceeds from the scheme and was found guilty by the court in November 2019 of money laundering and bank fraud conspiracy.
However, Scott was hoping to get a new trial on the grounds of “legal mistakes” and following evidence that the prosecution witness, who happens to be the brother of the “cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova, perjured himself on the witness stand.
As to the court’s reason for the decision, US District Judge Edgardo Ramos stated that he wasn’t convinced that Scott was innocent despite the fact that Ignatova’s brother, Konstantin Ignatov, lied in his testimony.
The judge may have reached this conclusion because the prosecution provided other irrefutable evidence to the fact that Scott was guilty, and the court’s ruling paves the way for Scott to be sentenced.
However, Bloomberg reports that Scott’s lawyer mentioned that his client intends to appeal the decision. According to him, it is disappointing that the court didn’t grant a new trial despite being provided with “undisputed evidence that the Government’s sole cooperating witness perjured himself.”
Ignatov had himself been prosecuted for his role in his sister’s fraudulent scheme. However, he pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the prosecutor, including testifying against other alleged conspirators like Scott.
One Of The Largest Fraud Schemes
On September 12, US District Judge Edgardo Ramos sentenced OneCoin’s co-founder Karl Greenwood to 20 years imprisonment and ordered him to pay close to $300 Million in forfeiture. In the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) statement, Greenwood, alongside Ruja Ignatova, is said to have “operated one of the largest fraud schemes ever perpetrated.”
Karlwood and Ignatova reportedly made over $4 billion from their fraudulent scheme, with many investors worldwide investing their money in the cryptocurrency OneCoin. At the time, Ignotova claimed that crypto would be the “Bitcoin killer.”
The “Cryptoqueen” still remains at large and is listed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) top 10 most-wanted fugitives. She is also listed as one of the most wanted criminals in Europe, with Europol offering a reward of 5,000 Euros for information leading to her arrest.
The last known fact as to her whereabouts is that she boarded a plane from Bulgaria to Athens and has ‘disappeared’ since then.
Ep08- Uganda – Companion Guide For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast
The production team flew to Uganda for what was supposed to be “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” last episode. They wanted to show how far the OneCoin scam traveled and what it did to its victims. The results are devastating. As it happened all over the world, people in Uganda couldn’t afford to lose one dollar and ended up falling for OneCoin and losing it all. Dr. Ruja Ignatova is a legend over there. And in this episode, we also get to meet people who still believe in her and the OneCoin project.
Anyway, let’s get into the episode titled “The Technology and the Dream.”
Remember, you can download episodes directly from the BBC, or listen to “The Missing Cryptoqueen” through Apple, Spotify, or iVoox.
About “The Missing Cryptoqueen,” Episode Eight- “The Technology And The Dream”
In this interview-heavy episode, the production team exposes the embarrassment and shame of the victims. Their hopes, their dreams, and the denial that lead to this. The sheer volume of devastation OneCoin caused in Uganda, where people sold everything to get in on the early floors and some of them even got loans. We also learn that at the time of recording, as it happened in Bulgaria, OneCoin was still operational in Uganda. The organization was still working, people were still investing, and marketers were still recruiting.
We get to meet many characters, but the standing out one is Saturday David. He’s a multi-level marketer who made a lot of money selling OneCoin, but also bought a lot himself. When Jamie Bartlett interviews him, he has stopped selling the product but still believes in Dr. Ruja. He also thinks there’s a chance for the money he has put in to multiply as he has promised countless people. Plus, he still believes in cryptocurrencies as a concept and his objective is to build a crypto-friendly city in Uganda.
The Uganda episode was announced as the series’ last, and it ends with a brief summary of all of the participants’ lives and everything. That’s until the producers tell us that their “phone rang one more time.” An anonymous contributor called the show’s helpline and told them that they were too close to finding Dr. Ruja to quit. He confirmed that she’s in Frankfurt, looks like a German lady, and was in attendance at the Miss OneLife pageant as the production crew suspected.
Quotes From The Uganda Episode of “The Missing Cryptoqueen”:
A promoter gives an example of what OneCoin middle-management insiders think happened to Dr. Ruja:
“She went into a safer zone because OneCoin is bigger than what people thought. So when other people got to know that it is fighting the current way of banking. So our leader had to sacrifice herself and go to a safer zone and concentrate on bringing the vision to reality.”
Bartlett on what Dr. Ruja knew about human nature and the historical moment we’re living in:
“Maybe above all, Dr. Ruja understood an even more difficult truth. That the difference between a straightforward scam and the complicated but legal world of finance and money isn’t as clear cut as we think. OneCoin wouldn’t be possible unless we lived at a time when people really do make millions simply by betting on cryptocurrencies, complicated derivatives, and high-frequency currency trading. OneCoin sounds plausible to so many people because it is plausible.”
Bartlett on Dr. Ruja being “the inverse Satoshi:”
“Ten years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency. No one knows where or even who Satoshi is, but it doesn’t matter because the idea Satoshi unleashed of financial freedom through technology is bigger than one person. Dr. Ruja is the inverse Satoshi.
She stands for something too, something that’s more important than where she is. She represents the dark side of rapid technological change. Every new technology creates amazing opportunities and possibilities for people who understand it, but also the chance to exploit the people who don’t.”
Extra Material about Uganda:
Six years ago, our sister site Bitcoinist mentioned Uganda in relation to OneCoin while denouncing the project as a scam:
“OneCoin meanwhile continues to make alarm bells ring throughout the world. Most recently Uganda’s central bank issued a public warning on the risks of investing in it, yet drew no distinction between the scheme and bonafide cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.”
Later on, Bitcoinist pulled no punches while discussing the DealShaker marketplace:
“Recently, an online “marketplace” appeared offering products and services in exchange for OneCoins, which Bitcoinist advises readers not to use under any circumstances.
At the same time, OneCoin’s online website, which poses as an ‘exchange,’ has finally gone offline possibly suggesting that the scam is nearing its endpoint.”
Episode Credits
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett
Producer: Georgia Catt
Story consultant: Chris Berube
Editor: Philip Sellars
Original music and sound design: Phil Channell
Original music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
Previous Companion Guides For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast:
Ep. 07 – https://newsbtc.com/crypto/ep07-moneyland-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/
Ep01- Dr. Ruja – Companion Guide For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast
Is Dr. Ruja Ignatova the cryptocurrency world’s biggest scammer? The competition is fierce, there are so many faces and stories fighting for that spot, but none of them is on the FBI Most Wanted List. Dr. Ruja is. Great, but, why is NewsBTC revisiting the 2019 true crime podcast “The Missing Cryptoqueen”? Because Jamie Bartlett, the journalist behind the project, just released a new episode.
Episode 10 of The Missing Cryptoqueen is now out.
The hunt it back on: Israel, Dubai, Luxembourg, The Eurovision Song Contest & Krispy Kremes.
Sorry, it’s taken me & @GeorgiaJCatt a while. And welcome to our new teammate @ByrnesyGsy! https://t.co/bfZWgBqeeP
— Jamie Bartlett (@JamieJBartlett) September 28, 2022
Is there new information? Did they FIND Dr. Ruja Ignatova? The only thing we know for sure is that there’ll be a few new episodes, and that’s all we needed to hear. A BBC production, “The Missing Cryptoqueen” features various music and sound design, witness testimonies, interviews, and sound bites. There’s even original music in this podcasting extravaganza.
NewsBTC will produce companion pieces for each of “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” episodes. With summaries, quotes from the episode, and extra material from all over the web, this is the feature you people didn’t know you needed. Have this window open as you listen to each episode, it’ll enhance the already phenomenal experience.
You can download episodes directly at the BBC, or listen to “The Missing Cryptoqueen” through Apple, Spotify, or iVoox.
About Episode One – Dr. Ruja
This is the introductory episode, it presents Dr. Ruja Ignatova and the OneCoin world. We feel the size of the scam, we hear from the people that fell for it and the voices of the true believers. It begins with Bitcoin and Satoshi Nakamoto’s story, goes to a OneCoin seminar in Mbarara, a town in Western Uganda, and ends with Dr. Ruja’s disappearance in October 2017.
In “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” first episode we can also see what a charismatic leader could do with bitcoin’s story and narrative. If Dr. Ruja Ignatova didn’t plagiarize it, she at least was heavily inspired by Satoshi Nakamoto’s mystique and discourse. Using quotes from her speeches, we hear Dr. Ruja speaking about a rotten financial system and corrupt banking institutions. About the possibility of banking the unbanked and what that would do for the world. About bitcoin’s pizza day story and how that could happen to OneCoin holders.
However, Dr. Ruja’s OneCoin was better than bitcoin. It was here to replace it, in fact.
Whenever you hear that, run. That should’ve been the witnesses’ first warning. In episode one, we hear about the OneLife network. The social part of the scam. We hear from a UK victim who assisted to the webinars, from a OneLife employee and insider, and we listen to an African song about OneCoin. There’s emotion in all of their voices. And an open wound.
Near the end, we hear about 2017 and Dr. Ruja’s disappearance from people that were there at the scene. What happened? So far, there are nine more episodes of BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen.” Let’s hope we get an answer to that question.
BTC price chart for 09/28/2022 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Quotes From Ep. 01 – “Dr. Ruja”
- “Then, in late 2017, Dr. Ruja disappeared. One of Europe’s richest women, a woman who seemed destined to change the world had vanished.”
- “It was impossible not to be impressed by Dr. Ruja. She appeared on the front cover of prestigious business magazines, she has degrees from Oxford and Konstanz University and is fluent in several languages.”
- “Thousands of people were filling stadiums to hear Dr. Ruja talk, to buy OneCoin and join this financial revolution.”
- “But in October 2017, there was a big OneCoin event in Lisbon, Portugal and Dr. Ruja was scheduled to speak.”
Extra Material And Episode Credits
This guide’s extra material comes courtesy of the podcast series’s IMDB page. In the description, IMDB gives us a good overview of what to expect from “The Missing Cryptoqueen.”
“Dr Ruja Ignatova called herself the Cryptoqueen. She told people she had invented a cryptocurrency to rival Bitcoin, and persuaded millions to join her financial revolution, investing billions. Then she disappeared. Why? Jamie Bartlett spent months investigating how she did it for the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, and trying to figure out where she’s hiding.”
This 2019 clip with producer Georgia Catt also qualifies as a trailer for what’s to come:
"She created this vision of herself using a bit of truth and a bit of fabrication, to create a convincing business genius…"
Where is the missing cryptoqueen? @georgiajcatt, @JamieJBartlett & @TinaDaheley discuss on @BBCRadio4's #BeyondToday podcast https://t.co/UMghdnRpP4 pic.twitter.com/pWTwAKEzKP
— BBC Sounds (@BBCSounds) September 24, 2019
And finally, the episode’s credits:
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett
Producer: Georgia Catt
Story consultant: Chris Berube
Editor: Philip Sellars
Original music and sound design: Phil Channell
Original music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
You’re part of NewsBTC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” listening group by just reading these guides. Let’s explore Dr. Ruja Ignatova’s world together.
Featured Image: “The Missing Cryptoqueen” logo from the BBC’s site | Charts by TradingView
