Ruja Ignatova disappeared seven years ago after an arrest warrant was issued against her by US authorities. The self-proclaimed “Queen of Crypto” was responsible for the OneCoin Ponzi scheme that took $4.5 billion from investors.
Now a BBC investigation suspects the missing crypto scammer may have been murdered by a Bulgarian drug lord years ago.
Seven years since the disappearance of Crypto Queen
In 2014, the crypto scam company A corner was founded by Bulgarian “entrepreneur” Ruja Ignatova. The company claimed to be the “Bitcoin Killer” with its cryptocurrency and Blockchain model. However, OneCoin was nothing more than a traditional Ponzi scheme, which stole $4.5 billion from its investors around the world.
After its collapse in 2017, authorities continued to investigate the fraudulent exchange and charged its leaders, including Ignatova. In October of that year, US authorities issued an arrest warrant to capture the self-proclaimed Crypto Queen, who disappeared to avoid the law.
Since her disappearance, Ignatova is believed to have been in hiding, especially after she became the only woman in the country. List of the 10 most wanted people by the FBI. However, a recent BBC report revealed disturbing information about the fate of the Bulgarian criminal.
Amanatidis' Interpol Red Notice. Source: BBC
According to the BBC investigation, many suspect Ignatova was killed by her security guard, Bulgarian drug lord Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis. Crypto Queen’s head of security is reportedly a major organized crime figure in his home country.
Amanatidis, also known as Taki, is “a very important, if not the most prolific, drug trafficker of all time in Bulgaria.” Taki apparently had close ties to OneCoin due to his relationship with Ignatova and was involved in the crypto scammer’s disappearance, a US government lawyer told the BBC.
What is the link between Bulgarian El Chapo and Ignatova?
The drug lord is, according to the report, a sort of Bulgarian El Chapo or Pablo Escobar character, responsible for armed robberies, drug traffic, and murder. Former Bulgarian Deputy Minister Ivan Hristanov believes that Taki was the only person capable of helping Ignatova in her criminal activities and protecting her from the law. Hristanov, who previously investigated the drug lord, said:
Taki is the ghost. You will never see it. We only hear about him. He speaks to you through other people. If you don’t listen, you disappear from the earth.
The connections between Taki and the Crypto Queen are growing. The drug lord reportedly lives in Dubai, where Ignatova owns a luxury penthouse. His bank accounts received millions of dollars from the Ponzi scheme. Additionally, the crypto-criminal paid Taki €100,000 per month for his protection.
Additionally, the two Bulgarian criminals were part of a complex deal to sell land on the country’s Black Sea coast. The documents apparently link one of Ignatova’s companies to Taki’s wife.
Hidden or dead, where is Ruja Ignatova?
Several sources believe that Ignatova may have been murdered by her protector. In 2022, Bulgarian journalist Dimitar Stoyanov conducted an investigation in the local media outlet Bird which compiled the suspicions of many people involved in the Ignatova affair.
According to the report, Stoyanov and Bird’s team received a police report in which a police informant detailed a conversation he overheard. In the conversation, Taki’s brother-in-law admits that Ignatova was murdered on the orders of the drug lord in late 2018.
His body was allegedly dismembered and thrown from a yacht into the sea. According to Stoyanov, this is “very, very possible”, as several of Taki’s criminal associates believe this theory to be true.
The associates’ reasoning was that the sought-after Ms. Ignatova was becoming a liability for Taki, who wanted to eliminate her ties to the OneCoin fraud.
Furthermore, the journalist affirms that since his disappearance, Taki’s associates have begin using several of Ignatova’s Bulgarian properties.
Ultimately, there is not enough evidence to prosecute the drug lord, and there is no agency to prove the murder, so the Crypto Queen’s whereabouts remains a mystery despite the rumors .
Total crypto market capitalization is at $2.48 trillion in the biweekly chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
