TLDR
- Ruja Ignatova, the founder of the fraudulent cryptocurrency OneCoin, allegedly had ties to a Bulgarian organized crime boss named Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis, also known as Taki.
- Taki is suspected of providing protection for Ignatova and potentially laundering money through OneCoin’s financial network.
- There are allegations that Ignatova was murdered on Taki’s orders in late 2018, with her body allegedly dismembered and dumped in the Ionian Sea.
- Despite Ignatova’s disappearance in 2017, OneCoin continued operating from offices in Bulgaria, with her properties being used by people connected to Taki.
- Ignatova remains on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, with a reward of $250,000 for information leading to her arrest, as there is no definitive proof of her death.
The case of Ruja Ignatova, the infamous “Cryptoqueen” behind the multi-billion-dollar OneCoin Ponzi scheme, has taken a sinister turn.
New investigations by the BBC’s Panorama team and The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast have shed light on Ignatova’s alleged connections to the Bulgarian underworld.
According to the reports, Ignatova, who disappeared in October 2017 after allegedly defrauding investors of over $4 billion, had ties to Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis, a suspected crime boss in Bulgaria known as “Taki.”
Taki is believed to have provided protection for Ignatova and may have used OneCoin’s financial network to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking.
Richard Reinhardt, a former investigator for the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who worked on the OneCoin case, stated that Taki was allegedly in charge of Ignatova’s physical security.
“We were told, allegedly a big-time drug guy was in charge of her physical security,” Reinhardt said.
The connections between Ignatova and Taki were further substantiated by leaked Europol documents, which showed that Bulgarian police had established links between the two before Ignatova’s disappearance.
The documents suggest that Taki may have used OneCoin’s financial network to launder money from drug trafficking operations.
Ivan Hristanov, a former Bulgarian deputy minister, believes that Taki’s influence in the country is significant, backed by corrupt networks.
“Taki is the ghost. You’ll never see him. You only hear about him. He’s talking to you through other people. If you don’t listen, you just disappear from earth,” Hristanov said.
In a chilling twist, a police informant has alleged that Ignatova was murdered on Taki’s orders in late 2018. According to the informant, Ignatova’s body was dismembered and dumped off a yacht in the Ionian Sea.
This theory is supported by some of Taki’s criminal associates, including Krasimir Kamenov, known as Kuro, who was assassinated in Cape Town in May 2023.
Despite the allegations of her murder, Ignatova remains on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, with a reward of $250,000 for information leading to her arrest.
According to Reinhardt, the FBI would only remove someone from the list if there was “definitive proof” of their death, suggesting that authorities have not yet confirmed Ignatova’s fate.
The case has also taken a toll on those involved in the investigation. Bulgarian investigative journalist Dimitar Stoyanov, who published the allegations of Ignatova’s murder, has faced death threats, forcing him to temporarily leave the country.
Evidence suggests that Ignatova’s properties in Bulgaria are now being used by people connected to Taki, further solidifying the alleged links between the Cryptoqueen and the criminal underworld.
As the investigation continues, the case of Ruja Ignatova has become a cautionary tale about the dangers of cryptocurrency scams and their potential connections to organized crime.
While the ultimate fate of the missing Cryptoqueen remains shrouded in mystery, the allegations surrounding her alleged ties to the Bulgarian mafia highlight the dark underbelly of the cryptocurrency world and the lengths some individuals may go to protect their illicit enterprises.
