FBI’s most-wanted ‘cryptoqueen’ may have got alerts about her arrest, claims report – Times of India

Ruja Ignatova, also known as the “missing cryptoqueen“, may have known about the investigations being carried out in the $4 billion cryptocurrency fraud she is accused of. This could have helped her plan her escape, says a report by BBC.
Ruja Ignatova hails from Bulgaria and is in the FBI‘s top 10 most wanted list. She disappeared in 2017 after defrauding billions from investors through the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam. Now a new report claims that she might have had knowledge about the investigations into the cryptocurrency scam.
“Files seen by the BBC from Europol meetings suggest the FBI-wanted fugitive knew about efforts to arrest her months before she vanished. The police documents were passed to The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast by Frank Schneider, a former spy and trusted adviser to Ms Ignatova. Mr Schneider denies obtaining the documents, which he says were passed to him on a USB memory stick by Ms Ignatova. He claims metadata on the files suggests she obtained the information via her own contacts in Bulgaria.He is now facing extradition to the US for his alleged role in the OneCoin fraud. Europol said it was looking into the issue.”, says the report.
Operation Satellite
As per the report (based on presentations obtained from police files), there was an Europol meeting called ‘Operation Satellite’ in The Hague on March 15, 2017,. As per the documents, the FBI, the US Department of Justice and the New York District Attorney, officers from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Dubai and Bulgaria were present at the meeting
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) earlier put Ruja Ignatova in its top 10 most wanted list. She is believed to be in her 40s. The FBI has offered a reward of up to $100,000 for any information leading to her arrest.
The OneCoin crypto scam
Ruja Ignatova had founded a company called OneCoin Ltd. that marketed “OneCoin”, a “self-described” cryptocurrency. As per the FBI: “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.”
She’s charged with “one count each of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud: Wire Fraud; Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering: Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud, and Securities Fraud.”