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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.”

BTCUSD price chart for 12/20/2022 - TradingView

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. 01 – https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/ep01-dr-ruja-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 02 – https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/ep02-btc-killer-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 03 – https://www.newsbtc.com/altcoin/ep03-onecoin-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 04 – https://www.newsbtc.com/scams-and-fraud/ep04-onelife-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 05 – https://www.newsbtc.com/scams-and-fraud/ep05-mlm-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 06 – https://www.newsbtc.com/scams-and-fraud/ep06-dealshaker-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 07 – https://newsbtc.com/crypto/ep07-moneyland-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

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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?

BTCUSD price chart for 11/03/2022 - TradingView

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:

Ep. 01 – https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/ep01-dr-ruja-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 02 – https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/ep02-btc-killer-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 03 – https://www.newsbtc.com/altcoin/ep03-onecoin-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 04 – https://www.newsbtc.com/scams-and-fraud/ep04-onelife-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 05 – https://www.newsbtc.com/scams-and-fraud/ep05-mlm-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Featured Image: The Missing Cryptoqueen logo by BBC | Charts by TradingView

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Ep04- OneLife – Companion Guide For BBC’s “The Missing Cryptoqueen” Podcast

What does a OneLife-produced event look like? Is the organization that supports the OneCoin community competent enough to produce a beauty pageant? The answer to those questions might surprise you. For this fourth episode, Jamie Bartlett and Georgia Catt go into the lion’s den. They travel to Bucharest, Romania, and witness the Miss OneLife coronation. Apparently, the event had some of “the world’s most famous brands as sponsors.” However, as it happens with everything Dr. Ruja related, things are not what they seem.

This episode’s guest star is Christi Calina, who’s a OneLife “independent marketing associate” and one of the event’s producers. Since the man’s ghosting them, Jamie and Georgia ambush him at a OneLife event in the same city. The conference “looks like the real deal, just like OneCoin,” Jamie evaluates. There, they get access to the Miss OneLife event and things take a turn for the mysterious.

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 Four – “Miss OneLife”

In this episode, Jamie and Georgia go through the charges against Konstantin Ignatov, Dr. Ruja’s brother. They contain some of the FBI documents about the case and include emails between Dr. Ruja and “other top leaders” of the OneLife organization. In those, the people allegedly discuss how the scam works in detail. If those are real, there’s no doubt that OneCoin was a very deliberate scam from the very beginning. They even discuss how to fake the mining of the supposed cryptocurrency.

In those emails, Dr. Ruja discusses a possible exit strategy and proposes they could “take the money and run and blame someone else for this.”

Later on, the FBI claims Dr. Ruja is “directly associated with significant players in the Easter European organized crime.”

It’s important to know that OneCoin disputes all of these allegations. We included part of their denial in the quotes section. We also included concrete information about Dr. Ruja’s disappearance and a new factor that might explain why she fled at the time she did. 

BTCUSD price chart for 10/25/2022 - TradingView

BTC price chart for 10/25/2022 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com

The Miss OneLife Beauty Pageant

Our heroes go into the eye of the storm. They can barely enter the premises because everyone in the OneLife organization knows exactly who they are. They don’t blend in. Everyone is “smartly dressed.” Bottles of Moet and cigars abound. The production is slick. A stage comes down from the ceiling and Jamie loses his mind. In the end, they both admit that the OneLife organization can throw a hell of an event. It was boring, though. And it doesn’t look like any cryptocurrency-related function that the podcast host has ever attended. 

“OneCoin is still going and there’s a lot of money here,” Jamie says before fleeing the event. 

Back in London, the producers fact-check everything that happened. The famous brands that were supposedly attached to the Miss OneLife pageant deny sponsorship. They’ve never heard of the event. Then, they contact Forbes and the magazine denies that Dr. Ruja was ever on the cover like the organization made seem in their promotional material. Then, they check on her education claims. As it turns out, Dr. Ruja did go to Oxford and got the degree she claims to have.

To finish the episode off, Jamie interviews Miss OneLife UK. She gives them peripheral information, like the event’s ticketing wasn’t open to the public and one of the prizes was a gift card for cosmetic surgery. Then, Jamie mentions Dr. Ruja. She says that she heard someone important was at the event, but couldn’t remember if it was her.

Is it possible that Dr. Ruja was in attendance at the Miss OneLife event? Apparently, “she’s unrecognizable now.”

This story gets more fascinating by the minute.

Quotes From “The Missing Cryptoqueen’s” Episode Four – “Miss OneLife”

OneCoin’s statement:

“OneCoin disputes all allegations. To our claim that OneCoin is not a cryptocurrency and that its nominal price is not determined by demand and supply, but is manipulated and set internally, they said: “OneCoin verifiably fulfills all criteria of the definition of cryptocurrency, and also those of a transparent pricing that is in line with the common market”. The BBC podcast series, they say, “is based on testimonials of haters, former employees who were either fired or disgracefully dismissed for internal company violations, intellectual property theft, and other violations. Thus, the series will not present any truthful information and cannot be considered objective, nor unbiased.” 

Concrete information about Dr. Ruja’s disappearance, and a new factor that might explain why she fled:

“The FBI files also contained valuable new information about Dr. Ruja’s disappearance. “Bulgarian travel records show that on or about October 25th, 2017, Ruja flew on Ryanair from Sofia, Bulgaria to Athens, Greece.” Dr. Ruja was last seen in Sozopol, in around July 2017. That was on her private yacht, the Davina, the one we saw. On October 7th, she then failed to turn up at a OneCoin event in Lisbon. But now we know that her last known whereabouts was in fact Athens on 25th October 2017. And there’s some more clues here. 

Last week, I said that the US authorities charged Dr. Ruja in absentia in March 2019. That’s not the whole story. We’ve learned that Dr. Ruja was actually indicted on 12th October 2017, but this indictment was sealed until March 2019. It was just two weeks after that first indictment that Dr. Ruja vanished. Is it possible she could have been tipped off?”

Extra Material And Episode Credits

As you probably know if you’ve gotten this far in the series, Dr. Ruja is on the FBI’s most-wanted list. The text under her name says:

“Ruja Ignatova is wanted for her alleged participation in a large-scale fraud scheme. Beginning in approximately 2014, Ignatova and others are alleged to have defrauded billions of dollars from investors all over the world.  Ignatova was the founder of OneCoin Ltd., a Bulgaria-based company that marketed a purported cryptocurrency.  In order to execute the scheme, Ignatova allegedly made false statements and representations to individuals in order to solicit investments in OneCoin.  She allegedly instructed victims to transmit investment funds to OneCoin accounts in order to purchase OneCoin packages, causing victims to send wire transfers representing these investments.  Throughout the scheme, OneCoin is believed to have defrauded victims out of more than $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:

Ep. 01 – https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/ep01-dr-ruja-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 02 – https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/ep02-btc-killer-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Ep. 03 – https://www.newsbtc.com/altcoin/ep03-onecoin-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Featured Image: The Missing Cryptoqueen’s logo from the BBC | Charts by TradingView

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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:

  1. Ep. 01 – https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/ep01-dr-ruja-companion-guide-for-bbcs-the-missing-cryptoqueen-podcast/

Featured Image: The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast logo from the BBC | Charts by TradingView

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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. 

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:

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