Reports suggested that the latest individual to be charged in connection to the crypto scheme was associated with Gilbert Armenta, the boyfriend of OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova.
OneCoin Compliance Chief Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Role in $4B Ponzi 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.
Lawyer who laundered $400M from OneCoin scam denied new trial: Report
A lawyer who laundered $400 million from the OneCoin scam has been denied a new trial despite arguing there were legal mistakes and false testimony in the original trial in 2019.
OneCoin Co-Founder Karl Greenwood Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos also ordered Greenwood to forfeit $300 million, the approximate amount he pocketed from the scheme.
OneCoin co-founder Greenwood gets 20 years in US jail for fraud, money laundering
Karl Greenwood will also have to pay back the $300 million he made in commissions in the OneCoin pyramid scheme.
Bulgarian Woman Charged in $4B Crypto Fraud Case, Extradited to U.S.
OneCoin’s victims were allegedly defrauded of over $4 billion in the scheme, which began operations in 2014.
Was OneCoin’s Missing Cryptoqueen Murdered by Mobsters?
New documents may reveal Ruja Ignatova’s grim fate, and stand as a bleak warning for other crypto scammers.
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/
$4B OneCoin scam co-founder pleads guilty, faces 60 years jail
The co-founder of the fraudulent scheme is set to be sentenced in April 2023 on charges relating to wire fraud and money laundering.
Ep07- Moneyland – Companion Guide For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast
What’s Moneyland? That’s what the first half of this “The Missing Cryptoqueen” episode is about. The second part is about Frankfurt, the city where Jamie and Georgia think that Dr. Ruja might be hiding. In any case, Moneyland is that mythical place where the money that millionaires and corporate entities want to disappear goes. The concept comes from british journalist Oliver Bullough, who “has spent many years investigating the ways illicit money flows around the world, including in Eastern Europe.” He’s this episode’s star guest.
The Frankfurt part, however, is the most exciting segment of the whole podcast so far. The production team really stepped up their investigative game and got closer to Dr. Ruja than any police department ever will. We know our summaries are phenomenal, but we recommend that everyone listens to that second part at least.
Remember, you can download episodes directly from the BBC, or listen to “The Missing Cryptoqueen” through Apple, Spotify, or iVoox.
In any case, let’s go to Moneyland!
About “The Missing Cryptoqueen,” Episode Seven – “In Plain Sight”
Is Dr. Ruja alive? Before even mentioning Moneyland, producer Georgia Catt confirms a possible Dr. Ruja sighting to presenter Jamie Bartlett. The staff of an Athens restaurant remembers someone with Dr. Ruja’s characteristics as part of a party of six. What they’re not sure about is exactly *when* did this happen. Interesting. The possibility of a Dr. Ruja running around Europe might’ve been the catalyst for the Frankfurt part of the episode. But first, let’s get to Moneyland.
After hearing the basic facts of the OneCoin case, journalist Oliver Bullough tells Jamie that once upon a time “Albania descended into anarchy because of a pyramid scheme.” As the crypto world has confirmed lately, these scams can be dangerous. Then, Bullough explains what Moneyland is. Rich and smart people can construct their “assets in such a way that they become invisible.” They can still use them to “buy political influence and nice houses and yachts.”
When it comes to other people trying to find those assets, though, they turn invisible. So, “that’s what Moneyland is, Moneyland is the place where these assets go.” This breaks Jamie, who asks if there’s zero chance of finding them. Bullough tries to cheer him up by saying “It’s not zero chance. It’s, yeah. I mean, it’s been very well hidden, right?” And that’s not the most depressing part of the episode. After that, they inform us that the UK has stopped their investigation into OneCoin. They just gave up.
FTT price chart for 11/18/2022 on FTX | Source: FTT/USD on TradingView.com
Moneyland Leads To Frankfurt
When things look darker, “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” production team gets into high gear. They turn their investigating arm up a few notches and focus on the Internet. “We put so much online now, and that information can betray us. And that’s what took us to somewhere we think Dr. Ruja might be.“ That somewhere is Frankfurt. Our heroes determine that Dr. Ruja’s ex-husband and her hidden daughter live in the city. Plus, her best friend seems to have visited Frankfurt recently.
They get there and they find nothing, not a single trace. This part is excruciating. However, it leads Jamie and Georgia to a high-luxury neighborhood that feels like the place Dr. Ruja would live. This is where Monelyland leads to. In there, they find a charismatic but annoying postman that might remember the name Ignatova. They leave that storyline open and “The Missing Cryptoqueen” returns to England.
To finish the episode off, Jamie has a very interesting discussion with Cameron, “a UK-based OneCoin promoter.” Is he a true believer or is he just defending an extremely lucrative business? Cameron goes all in and carries the OneCoin party line to the very end. Wow. This might be the most surprising part of the whole episode.
Quotes From Episode Seven of “The Missing Cryptoqueen”:
Oliver Bullough, explaining how money can disappear:
“If you are rich enough and well advised enough or clever enough, you construct your assets in such a way that they become invisible. They still exist, you can still use them to buy things, you can still use them to buy political influence and nice houses and yachts. But when it comes from someone trying to find them, whether that’s a journalist or a police officer, the assets are invisible. And so that’s what Moneyland is, Moneyland is the place where these assets go.”
Jamie Barlett on what led them to Frankfurt:
“There’s one place we haven’t looked, not really looked. And it’s probably the most obvious place of all, the Internet. We put so much online now, and that information can betray us. And that’s what took us to somewhere we think Dr. Ruja might be. Not Athens, Frankfurt. It took weeks of extremely boring internet research and painstakingly going back through everything we’ve learned so far.”
Extra Material, about “Moneyland”:
In The Guardian’s review of Oliver Bullough’s “Moneyland,” they quote a metaphorical definition of the novel term:
“He conceives of it as a secret, parallel world, almost like something from a fairytale: “The very wealthiest people … have tunnelled into this new land that lies beneath all our nation states, where borders have vanished. They move their money … and themselves wherever they wish, picking and choosing which countries’ laws they wish to live by.”
The Guardian also says:
“He is surprisingly successful at getting some of the architects of the offshore world to open up, and is sensitive to the fact that some of its users have good reason to avoid governments, such as rich dissidents fearing the politically motivated confiscation of their assets. He also accepts an argument frequently put to him in notorious tax havens: that wealthier, less criticised countries such as Britain have been equally involved in building and maintaining Moneyland.”
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:
Featured Image: The Missing Cryptoqueen’s logo, from the BBC | Charts by TradingView
Ep06- DealShaker – Companion Guide For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast
Believe it or not, the DealShaker marketplace is still working. The commerce arm of the OneCoin empire, DealShaker provided a clear and verifiable use case for OneCoin as a currency. The token was real because you could use it to buy things in a specific e-commerce store. Oh, those were the days. The greatest thing about exploring OneCoin and Dr. Ruja’s story is that it reflects how naive the crypto world actually was just a few years ago. In many ways, it still is.
In “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” sixth episode, we travel to the past. It’s titled “The Überflieger” referring to a “high-flying” person. That’s how teachers of the past described Dr. Ruja, who was definitely the star in all of her classes and was respected and hated for it. What else can Jamie and Georgia learn about Ruja Ignatova by tracing her steps? Let’s find out.
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 Six – “The Überflieger”
Our blast from the past episode starts in 2009, five years before OneCoin and DealShaker. Bitcoin was entering the scene and so was Dr. Ruja, who bought a factory in Germany. Jamie and Georgia visit the site in 2019 and interview the survivors of that story. They tell them that Ruja Ignatova got there, impressed everybody, and made a lot of promises that she didn’t keep. After that, she disappeared, effectively rug-pulling everybody. Interesting fact, both her father and her mother worked at the factory. Which suggests Ruja Ignatova is a family woman.
When Dr. Ruja disappeared, the factory offices were broken into and a lot of documents went missing, along with her. The factory workers that the podcast interviewed all seem to think that this was staged and that Dr. Ruja took and destroyed some important documents. “It’s exactly the same story,” one of them says comparing OneCoin and DealShaker to the factory in question. When things got tough, Ruja Ignatova sold the company and disappeared. The factory remains closed to this day.
In the next section’s second quote, you’ll sense the magnitude of that first case against Dr. Ruja. She paid the fine and kept it pushing. And, according to the factory workers, she learned that the next time she was going to have to disappear for real.
Quotes From “The Missing Cryptoqueen,” EpisodeSix – “The Überflieger”
In what appears a diary entry, we learn about the young Ruja Ignatova:
“Ruja was always friendly to everyone. She was always well behaved and cheerful, and the teachers were deeply fond of her. She doesn’t drink and she would never degrade herself to eating pizza. Her favorite classes were “p,” she was faultless, and now and then she likes “ari.” Generally, she got on very well with her colleagues. Stop. Maybe we should stick to the truth. Okay, fine. Maybe I did take pleasure in tormenting some students. I was always looking for the chance to spread new amusing stories about them.”
This quote summarizes the consequences of Ruja’s first fraud:
“This time, the law caught up with Dr. Ruja. In 2016, she was convicted in a German court for several crimes. Intentional breach of duty in the event of insolvency, fraud, withholding an embezzlement of employees’ wages, and violation of accounting duties, She received a 14-month suspended sentence and an €18,000 fine. The local newspaper reported that Ruja reappeared to attend the ruling and showed no emotion when the judgment was passed down. She quietly slipped out and returned to Bulgaria, and carried on with OneCoin as if nothing had happened.”
More About Dr. Ruja’s Past
Later in the episode, Jamie and Georgia confirm that Ruja really got a PHD. “She’s smart,” Georgia says. Then, Multi-Level Marketing makes a second appearance. We learn that in 2014, Ruja Ignatova tried to sell… wait for it… bitcoin using MLM techniques. The producers introduce Sebastian Greenwood, a Multi-Level Marketing expert that seems to have created the Dr. Ruja character with Ignatova. She had the charisma, he had the technique. They just needed a product they could control.
Last but not least, we meet Duncan. He once was an integral part of the OneLife organization and it’s the mind behind DealShaker. He says everything in there is rubbish and challenges Jamie to find five things he wants and can pay in OneCoin only. Jamie goes through DealShaker and realizes the already shady characters that sell products through the platform mostly want Euros. Is DealShaker really a OneCoin market?
At the end of the episode, a private detective that the production hired apparently found a lady that could be Ruja Ignatova in Athens. Could it be?
BTC price chart for 11/03/2022 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Extra Material: OneCoin Responds To The FCA
Approximately six years ago, the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom issued a warning against OneCoin. The company responded and NewsBTC reported the story:
“In the statement, OneCoin has called itself a global software and technology company with offices in Bulgaria, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. The company has also described OneCoin has a digital currency sharing few features with existing cryptocurrencies. These similarities are confined to the maintenance of all transaction records on a database.
The digital currency company, in the last paragraph of the statement, expresses its full cooperation,
“OneCoin is committed to following good business practices and the relevant rules and regulations in the countries in which it operates. It will co-operate fully with the authorities in pursuit of this objective.”
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:
Featured Image: The Missing Cryptoqueen logo by BBC | Charts by TradingView
Ep05- MLM – Companion Guide For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast
It was about time that MLM made an appearance. Multi-Level Marketing explains a lot about the OneCoin story. In this ONE-HOUR episode of “The Missing Cryptoqueen,” we’ll learn about the secret ingredient that catapulted Dr. Ruja from the millions to the billions. We’ll meet interesting people and the plot will thicken. Also, the size of the OneCoin scam will increase significantly. This thing gets bigger by the episode, which is what makes the show so entertaining. What a clusterfuck this was.
It begins by answering the question posed in episode 4. Could an unrecognizable version of Dr. Ruja have been in attendance at the Miss OneLife beauty pageant? The production team shows a UK plastic surgeon pictures from the event. There was a person with OneCoin’s main directors that they suspect might’ve been Ruja Ignatova. He hesitates, but when Jamie Bartlett tells him that the person they’re looking for is a billionaire with an infinite budget, he changes his mind. “It’s possible, those things can be changed,” he says.
That being settled, let’s get into MLM.
Remember, you can download episodes directly from the BBC, or listen to “The Missing Cryptoqueen” through Apple, Spotify, or iVoox.
About MLM And “The Missing Cryptoqueen,” Episode Five – “What Dreams May Come”
This episode’s protagonist was the #1 seller of OneCoin at one point. He’s a professional multi-level marketer with an army of professional MLM salespersons at his disposal. His house is called “What Dreams May Come,” which inspired the episode’s title. This man’s tongue is the main reason this episode is one hour long. His stories are phenomenal, everyone should listen to them. Especially considering we’re going to skip them and stick to the core story.
So, network marketing, MLM, or multi-level marketing is the missing ingredient. When this man’s company started working for OneCoin, they put an army of top-level marketers to push the product. And it sold like hotcakes. “In the first year, it made more millionaires than Amway ever did in their 75 years of history,” he claims. The kicker to this part of the story is that the MLM marketer alleges that he believed Dr. Ruja and put more money into OneCoin than anyone on earth.
According to the released FBI documents we found last time, Dr. Ruja and company called this operation “The B*tch of Wall Street meets MLM.” You can’t make this stuff up. In an archival audio file, we hear her announce that OneCoin was going to inflate the supply 10X and the crowd cheered. Then, contradicting every economic law, she told them that the more OneCoin there were, the best it was for them. They Cheered. Then, by decree, she doubled the amount of OneCoin everyone had in their vaults. People lost their minds.
Besides MLM, two of the most mind-blowing revelations the episode contains are in the following quotes.
Quotes From “The Missing Cryptoqueen,” Episode Five – “What Dreams May Come”
Tim Curry, OneCoin critic, said:
“The math of this is just completely ridiculous. Every minute 50,000 OneCoins are mined, right? Now, the value of those at today’s “price” of €29.95 would be €1.5 million a minute, is what they’re claiming right? And per hour, that’s €89.85 million. And then, per day, they’re creating €2.15 billion out of thin air, right? And so, the logic of it is just ridiculous. Now, if you follow how many coins have been mined for the first quote “Blockchain.” And then, from October 1 to present, it’s nearing about 70 billion coins. If we take 70 billion coins and multiply that by the internal price of 29.95, you’re looking at, I think it’s like $1.8 trillion or $2.1 trillion. Which is greater than all of the US dollars in circulation on earth, which is about $1.67 trillion.”
About the fact that OneCoin did have a certificate saying they were Shariah-compliant that was issued from Pakistan, Amjad Mohammed, scholar from Bradford and OneCoin critic, said:
“What Sharia compliant is supposed to mean, is that somebody has carried out thorough research, gone through all the conditions, gone through all the terms with a fine tooth comb. There was no evidence of any research whatsoever. It was just a blank certificate saying “this is okay.” Amjad issued a fatwa against this, a ruling that OneCoin was not halal. And then, “within weeks, the conditions which I had highlighted as being problematic changed. So, clearly, somebody was keeping a watching brief of what I was doing because I only picked a couple in the initial fatwa. However, OneCoin does not actually exist. So, I can easily make any form of conditions for something, when the actual thing does not exist. It’s a fraud.”
MLM And The Perfect Scam
Near the end, Jamie Bartlett reflects on the story so far:
“There’s something strangely beautiful about the OneCoin scam. It’s like the perfect scam. It combines the hype and terminology of cryptocurrencies and the hard-nosed MLM selling of people like Igor Alberts. It uses glamorous events and household brands to create the veneer of respectability and protects it with a religious-like zeal. And who could ever doubt the intentions of the trustworthy Dr. Ruja.”
The cult-like aspects of the whole ordeal are ever-present in this episode. The whistleblowers tell the producers about the death threats they get like it’s nothing. For people inside of OneCoin, they’re traitors of the highest order. For these religious zealots, Dr. Ruja is still running the whole operation from the shadows, and the people that want to silence her are just jealous “haters.”
Before finishing, Jamie Bartlett explores the idea that, when it mixed with MLM, the OneCoin operation got too big. Maybe Dr. Ruja was scared, as she seems to show in an alleged email. Apparently, this was supposed to be a little scam, but it caught fire. And Dr. Ruja’s backers were not going to let a golden goose die.
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:
Ep03- OneCoin – Companion Guide For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast
Good news! Since OneCoin is back on the news and “The Missing Cryptoqueen” already released an 11th episode, proving that they’re back for real, we’re going to double down on our efforts. Starting today, we’ll summarize two episodes a week to catch up with the new developments in Dr. Ruja’s case. We hit the nail on the head on this one, and there’s nothing left to do but let the roulette roll and see where the OneCoin story takes us.
In this episode, we learn that OneCoin’s internal slogan was “the greatest company ever” and Jamie Bartlett travels to Sofia, Bulgaria, to look at Dr. Ruja’s properties. This episode is free of mafia insinuations, it deals with the cultic aspects of OneCoin’s entrepreneurial culture instead. We’re also able to put a number on how big of a scam OneCoin really was. SPOILER ALERT: It was at least €4B big.
Remember, you can download episodes directly from the BBC, or listen to “The Missing Cryptoqueen” through Apple, Spotify, or iVoox.
About OneCoin And “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” Episode Three
The most exciting thing about “The Missing Cryptoqueen” is the sense of immediacy it conveys. It’s a living and breathing podcast. The story was happening all around Jamie Bartlett and the team. The OneCoin people react to “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” creation and, through social media, attack the creators with everything they have. And the whole scene is part of the podcast. And this is just episode three. In the end, they even ask for the audience to call and tip them about Dr. Ruja’s whereabouts.
This episode starts with Konstantin Ignatov, Dr. Ruja’s younger brother, personal assistant, and heir to the OneCoin crown. He was arrested by the FBI and charged with money laundering and fraud. The authorities had already declared OneCoin a fraud, even. Surprisingly, when Bartlett and the team visit the OneCoin headquarters, they realize that the company is still “open for business.” People are still buying OneCoin despite the fact that one of their leaders is on the run and the other was arrested.
That leads us to the cult-like aspects of the operation. A faith-like belief justifies the disappearance of the leaders as a conspiracy to stop OneCoin. In the quote below, you will feel the silence while reading the description of the organization’s offices. You’ll feel the Dr. Ruja worship. It’s just one step away from religion and very near a cult. Jamie Bartlett describes OneCoin as “less a cryptocurrency and more like a belief system.” An expert in that field corroborates the hypothesis.
BTC price chart for 10/20/2022 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
The Devastation That They Caused
At one point we, once again, listen to Dr. Ruja’s own voice saying the crypto scammers’ slogan. “In two years, no one will talk about bitcoin.” If you ever hear that, run. In the second episode, we figured out that OneCoin called the critics “haters.” In this one, we learn that the investors and employees are instructed to keep away from them Scientology-style. Another surprising fact is that the second term OneCoin uses the most to describe its critics is “bitcoiner.” Those pesky bitcoiners, always causing trouble.
We learn about the scale of the devastation that Dr. Ruja caused by hearing about the OneCoin Victims Support Group. The victims are broken, they’ve lost everything and then some. We also learn about the scale of the scam by way of a report/ database that producer Georgia Catt got her hands on. From all over the world, the organization was getting €60M a week. From August 2014 to March 2017, OneCoin’s revenue was over €4B. Over €100M were from the UK alone. And that’s where the report stops, the organization was still making money left and right.
Quotes From “The Missing Cryptoqueen ’s” Episode Three – “More Than Just A Coin”
An anonymous witness describing the OneCoin offices:
“At its peak, it was about 50 people working in the Sofia office. Ruja’s office is on the 4th floor. You never saw her without the gypsy earrings, the gowns, the jewelry, everything. Even when she’s just working in the office. Inside the Sofia office, the crypto center is where members of the OneLife network are allowed to meet members of the Sofia staff who are important. If you are out of favor, they won’t let you in, or they’ll keep you sitting there the whole day, waiting.
It’s set up almost like a cathedral. You don’t speak out loud, you whisper to each other. It’s all set in dark tones, everything is gilded. There was a big cardboard cutout of Ruja. You see people touching it and doing that stupid OneCoin sign like it’s an icon. It’s gone now because it eventually fell apart because too many people were touching it. Dr. Ruja! Dr. Ruja! The biggest insult that you can give OneLife is to say: “that’s not Dr. Ruja’s vision.”
Bitcoin-enthusiast Timothy Curry, describing the cult of personality behind Dr. Ruja:
“There were many cultish things that the company did. The repetitive indoctrination. If you look at the top leaders, the way they dress, the way that they showed things off. Ceremonial things, almost like, especially on stage. Everything, from the musical introductions to Ruja, to the theatrics, they really did create a worship behind her.”
OneCoin Material And Episode Credits
Six years ago, while OneCoin conquered the world, NewsBTC quoted the infamous Roger Ver speaking on the case. Then known as a “bitcoin evangelist,” the controversial figure denounced OneCoin for what it is:
“In a recent interview, the owner of Bitcoin.com says he believes OneCoin is a fraud, and that investors should always be wary of new coins and read up before they put their money in things they don’t understand:
“There is never a cryptocurrency without a wallet. This sounds like more evidence of its fraudulent nature. OneCoin isn’t traded on a single exchange anywhere in the world as far as I know.”
OneCoin has been around for over two years, but questions surrounding its authenticity continue to plague the Internet.”
Say what you will about Roger Ver, but the man was right on the money on this one.
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
Previous Companion Guides For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast:
Featured Image: The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast logo from the BBC | Charts by TradingView
‘Cryptoqueen’ associates face German court for role in $4B OneCoin scheme
The whereabouts of “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova are still unknown but the charges against OneCoin members are starting to pile up.
Ep02- BTC Killer – Companion Guide For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast
Let’s listen to “The Missing Cryptoqueen” podcast together from the very beginning, as the new episodes arrive. This second one presents new facets of Dr. Ruja’s story and amplifies the scope of the podcast. Good news, “The Missing Cryptoqueen” might be even more interesting than we previously believed. As BBC presenter Jamie Bartlett puts it, “we thought we were looking for a missing billionaire, but now we seem to be entering a world that’s far murkier than we thought.”
NewsBTC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” listening group is now in session. In the first few minutes of this episode, Dr. Ruja Ignatova says: “In two years, nobody will talk about bitcoin anymore.” A line out of the book of every crypto scammer out there.
Remember, you can download episodes directly from the BBC, or listen to “The Missing Cryptoqueen” through Apple, Spotify, or iVoox.
About “The Missing Cryptoqueen ’s” Episode Two, “The Bitcoin Killer”
This podcast moves fast. It’s only “The Missing Cryptoqueen ’s” second episode and the whole OneCoin fiasco is already breaking apart. The producer and the presenter move between telling the story of what happened and the actual search for Dr. Ruja. The team went to Bulgaria and asked around about the controversial character. Every time they mentioned her, Bulgarians started to speak loudly among themselves.
They are going to places that she frequented, sure, but everyone seems to know about Ruja Ignatova.
In any case, “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” audience is not exactly a cryptocurrency-savvy one. The episode starts with a terrible definition of what money is, and a shaky explanation of how blockchain technology works. It’s necessary, because we will soon find out that OneCoin didn’t even run on a blockchain. This was a scam through and through from the very beginning.
The podcast/ radio documentary also serves as a living and breathing explanation of how a Ponzi scheme works. And the story’s protagonists tell you exactly what happened in their own words. One of the victims, Jane; a developer turned OneCoin whistleblower; and OneCoin denouncer Timothy Curry are the guests in “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” second episode.
In the episode’s fourth quarter, the team goes to the marina where the boat Dr. Ruja’s disappeared from was located. The Bulgarians there mention the mafia. And the developer turned whistleblower also alludes to it.
BTC price chart for 10/06/2022 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
An Almost-Always-Present Characteristic Of A Scam Or Ponzi
Besides the lack of a blockchain, “The Missing Cryptoqueen” points out an almost-always-present characteristic of a scam or Ponzi:
- People couldn’t withdraw or spend the tokens they bought.
In this case, OneCoin only lived in a SQL Database in Bulgaria. The naive investors saw the price pumping and believed they were making a killing, but their tokens were just numbers on a screen. They couldn’t exchange them for other cryptocurrencies because OneCoin was not a cryptocurrency. It didn’t run on a blockchain.
At the time, the team reached out to OneCoin with these allegations and they denied everything and blamed the authorities and regulations for their token’s lack of usability. Classic scammers.
Quotes From “The Missing Cryptoqueen ’s” Episode Two – “The Bitcoin Killer”
- “The €10,000 that Jen invested which she thought was now worth over €100,000 in one coin was just a number that someone in an office in Bulgaria had made up and could delete just as easily. OneCoin is not a real cryptocurrency, it’s just pretending to be one. It’s fake, it’s a scam, and it could be the scam of the century.”
- “OneCoin was only possible because of Dr. Ruja. Whenever we see complicated technology that we don’t understand, we make a judgment about it based on things we do understand. Like the fact that the boss was an inspirational, successful businesswoman. Dr. Ruja’s magic trick was to use the hype and terminology of legitimate cryptocurrencies. So ordinary people like Jen couldn’t tell the difference between the real and the fake.”
Extra Material And Episode Credits
This week’s extra material comes courtesy of Investopedia, which summarizes “The Missing Cryptoqueen ’s” plot as:
“OneCoin was a cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme. The companies behind the scheme were OneCoin Ltd. and OneLife Network Ltd., founded by Bulgarian national Ruja Ignatova, who disappeared in 2017. However, not before the scheme raised $4 billion.”
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
Previous Companion Guides For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast:
Featured Image: The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast logo from the BBC | Charts by TradingView
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
‘Castle’ production company’s new TV crypto comedy to drop an ep as an NFT
A crypto-funded TV comedy series intends on releasing a full episode as an NFT.
OneCoin Investors Allege BNY Mellon Aided $4B Fraud
Following the publication of the FinCEN Files on Monday, investors suing OneCoin have now filed charges against BNY Mellon.
FinCEN Files: BNY Mellon Processed $137M for Entities Linked to OneCoin
The leaked “FinCEN files” show that BNY Mellon flagged a $30 million purported loan that it helped wire as one suspected case of OneCoin laundering funds.
