Crypto Queen Ruja Ignatova: Alive or dead after the $4.5B heist?

  • The life or death of OneCoin founder and alleged scammer crypto queen Ruja Ignatova remains a mystery. 
  • Ignatova scammed investors of $4.5 billion and vanished with no verifiable trace of life or death. 

As a crypto investor who has closely followed the OneCoin saga, I can’t help but feel a mix of anger and intrigue towards the mysterious disappearance of Ruja Ignatova, the mastermind behind this multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. The audacity of her scam left a trail of devastation in its wake, with innocent investors losing their hard-earned savings.


As an analyst looking into the OneCoin case, I find myself immersed in a captivating whodunit. The enigma surrounding the disappearance of Ruja Ignatova, the alleged mastermind behind this crypto ponzi scheme and nicknamed the “crypto queen,” raises more queries than it answers.

In the year 2014, Ignatova managed to defraud approximately 3.5 million people to the tune of $4.5 billion through her cryptocurrency, OneCoin. She enticed them with promises of extraordinary Bitcoin-like profits.

Following the daring heist, the enigmatic Bulgarian woman with an Oxford education disappeared without a trace, leaving her story shrouded in mystery a decade later. Her audacious scheme secured her a place among the FBI’s top ten most-wanted fugitives.

Is Crypto queen Ruja Ignatova alive or dead?

As an analyst, I recently delved into the intriguing saga of Ignatova, exploring the question of her current status: alive or deceased. In a revealing investigation by BBC, we endeavored to unravel this enigma.

It’s intriguing that Ignatova was reportedly linked to Bulgarian criminal circles, with Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis, known as Taki, serving as her protector and bodyguard. This association allegedly provided a layer of protection for Ignatova from both local and international probes.

Further investigations revealed a potential connection between Taki’s alleged drug trafficking business and the money flowing through OneCoin transactions.

In my role as a researcher, I can rephrase the given sentence as follows:

Instead, Ignatova’s supposed protector may have transformed into an antagonist, according to investigative journalist Dimitar Stoyanov of ‘bird.bg’.

According to reports, Ignatova’s lifeless body was discovered in late 2018 in the Ionian Sea, which borders the western coast of Greece. It is claimed that her murder was orchestrated by Taki, based on BBC’s account.

The Mystery continues

The BBC report expressed uncertainty about the accuracy of the statement they were investigating and used this as a tactic to divert attention from their inquiry.

One explanation for approaching Ignatova’s reported demise with skepticism was her continued inclusion on the FBI’s most wanted list.

Based on the findings in the report, Ignatova was added to the list in the year 2022 and she still appears on it at present. As per sources consulted in the report, the FBI takes action to remove an individual from this list following confirmation of their demise.

As a crypto investor following the news closely, I can’t help but be intrigued by this development. Her persistence on the FBI’s most wanted list has certainly added an unexpected layer to her tale. It leaves me wondering – is she still among us?

However, the only certain thing was that her OneCoin victims were yet to see a reprieve.

As an analyst, I would put it this way: Despite regaining control of Ingatova’s Dubai assets through Taki, I haven’t been able to fully restore their value. It is alleged that these properties were purchased using funds derived from the illegal OneCoin scheme.

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2024-06-04 18:15