Finanzbetrug: Fahndung nach Onecoin-Betrügerin - Teilvermögen eingezogen

Nearly a year after Bielefeld prosecutors charged Ruja Ignatova, the creator of the supposed cryptocurrency Onecoin, with fraud, the hunt for the self-proclaimed "Cryptoqueen" remains international. Her whereabouts remain unknown, but prosecutors have managed to seize around €10.1 million from her personal assets to compensate victims, according to the Bielefeld prosecutor's office.

The charges were brought in September 2025 to prevent the statute of limitations from expiring on the alleged fraud acts. The complaint names nearly 17,500 victims and claims a total loss of €57 million from a limited period between 2015 and 2016. Millions of investors are believed to be affected, with a billion-dollar damage incurred.

Ignatova allegedly built a fraudulent pyramid scheme to sell her invented cryptocurrency. Her company's headquarters were in Greven, Münsterland. The prosecutor's office, with the help of international legal assistance, managed to seize approximately €10.1 million from the proceeds of the sale of two residential properties in London, which will be used to compensate the victims.

German and other European investors who made payments between December 9, 2015, and August 15, 2016, to accounts at IMS GmbH in Greven can contact the prosecutor's office after providing proof of the payments made. The "legally recognized victims" are known, but not all addresses have been identified, explained the prosecutor Carsten Nowak.

Ignatova disappeared in October 2017 after traveling from Sofia to Athens and has not been seen since. Since then, she has been hunted worldwide through photos. Anyone with information about the defendant's whereabouts is asked to contact the Landeskriminalamt in Düsseldorf. By summer 2031, the alleged acts will be time-barred.