TLDR
- Ruja Ignatova, creator of the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, disappeared in 2017 after allegedly defrauding investors of $4.5 billion
- New evidence suggests Ignatova had close ties to a suspected Bulgarian organized crime boss known as Taki (Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis)
- Leaked documents indicate Taki may have used OneCoin’s financial network for money laundering and drug trafficking
- Some associates claim Taki ordered Ignatova’s murder in 2018 due to her becoming a liability, though her body has never been found
- Despite ongoing investigations, definitive proof of Ignatova’s fate remains elusive, perpetuating the mystery surrounding the missing “Cryptoqueen”
The disappearance of Ruja Ignatova, the mastermind behind the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, has puzzled investigators since she vanished in 2017.
Ignatova, a Bulgarian-born entrepreneur with an Oxford education, launched OneCoin in 2014, promising investors massive returns similar to those seen by early Bitcoin adopters.
However, OneCoin was later revealed to be a sophisticated Ponzi scheme, defrauding investors of an estimated $4.5 billion.
As investigations into the scam intensified, Ignatova boarded a flight from Sofia to Athens in October 2017 and disappeared without a trace.
Recent inquiries by BBC Eye Investigations and Panorama have shed new light on her potential fate, uncovering startling connections between Ignatova and a suspected Bulgarian organized crime figure known as Taki, whose real name is Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis.
According to former IRS investigator Richard Reinhardt, Taki was allegedly responsible for Ignatova’s personal security.
Leaked Europol documents suggest that Bulgarian authorities suspected Taki of using OneCoin’s financial infrastructure for illicit activities such as money laundering and drug trafficking.
Despite his formidable reputation and alleged involvement in organized crime, Taki has evaded prosecution and is believed to reside in Dubai, where Ignatova’s fraudulent gains were funneled.
Bulgarian investigative journalist Dimitar Stoyanov has reported on a police document found after the murder of a Bulgarian officer, which contains allegations that Ignatova was killed on Taki’s orders in 2018.
The document claims her body was dismembered and dumped in the Ionian Sea. While these allegations remain unverified, some of Taki’s criminal associates corroborate the theory, suggesting that Ignatova had become a liability.
However, efforts to uncover the truth about Ignatova’s disappearance have been met with significant challenges.
Journalists and witnesses have faced death threats, and definitive proof of her fate remains elusive. Some believe she may have successfully escaped with the stolen billions, while others suspect she fell victim to the very criminals she associated with.
