Missing Crypto Queen Ruja Ignatova May Have Been Murdered, BBC Report Says

Updated: 04 June 2024

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Crypto Queen Ruja Ignatova, the founder of the infamous OneCoin scam who has been missing and presumed dead for several years, may have been murdered, according to a June 3 report by the BBC.

During its investigation, the BBC uncovered that Ignatova had close ties with a major Bulgarian crime figure by the name of Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis, who is also known as Taki. This individual, according to former IRS investigator Richard Reinhardt, was responsible for Ignatova’s security.

Taki Suspected Of Ordering Ruja Ignatova Murder

Taki is suspected of ordering the execution of Ignatovo in late 2018, a report sent to Bulgarian journalist Dimitar Stoyanov in 2022 suggests, the BBC reported. The OneCoin founder’s body was then reportedly dismembered and dumped in the Ionian Sea.

Leaked Europol documents seen by the BBC showed that Bulgarian police had already connected Taki to Ignatova prior to the scammer’s disappearance. Taki is also suspected of using OneCoin’s network to launder proceeds from his drug trafficking operation.

The missing Cryptoqueen Ruja Ignatova remains the world’s most wanted woman and the FBI is still looking for her

Only her arrest or proof of her death will solve the mystery of what happened to her

No body has ever been found
#BBCEye #BBCPanorama
https://t.co/aWCl7dobof

— BBC Panorama (@BBCPanorama) June 3, 2024

Despite the allegations, a body has not yet been found. Taki hasn’t been arrested yet either. Meanwhile, Ignatova is still listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Listed due to lack of concrete evidence that she is no longer alive.

Crime Boss Allegedly Wanted To Break His Links To The Crypto Scam

A former spy and adviser to Ignatova, Frank Schneider, believes that she was indeed murdered. His belief is based on the idea that Taki wanted to sever his links to the OneCoin scam.

“Certain people had to be removed because they knew too much about Taki,” Schneider told the BBC in an interview at his home in France while awaiting extradition to the US in connection to OneCoin.

“It was kind of a public execution that looked more like a statement,” he added.

Although the BBC has not been able to verify Schneider’s claims, the former spy has not been seen since the interview.

What’s more, the journalist who received the report that Taki ordered the murder of Ignatova said that he and his colleagues have faced death threats since they published what was in the document.