The organizer of the OneCoin crypto pyramid, Ruja Ignatova, may be hiding in Russia, as she may have connections to the Kremlin administration, said BBC journalist Yoran Tsalov. In his opinion, the connection between Ruja Ignatova and the Kremlin was confirmed by her former security adviser Frank Schneider. He was placed under house arrest in France due to his connections to OneCoin, but went into hiding in 2023.
In addition, according to the publication Decrypt, a number of companies involved in money laundering as part of the crypto pyramid scheme were associated with former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who left the country in the winter of 2024.
As journalist Tsalov noted, Frank Schneider gave an interview to the BBC shortly before his disappearance. According to him, if the former OneCoin security adviser was able to avoid extradition himself, then he was also capable of organizing Ignatova's escape.
According to the journalist, it is much more profitable for the criminals that Ruja Ignatova is alive. At the same time, the BBC press service emphasized that the journalist's opinion is personal and may not correspond to the editorial point of view.
Let us recall that Ruja Ignatova disappeared in 2017 after leaving for Greece. In 2022, the US authorities offered a reward for information about her, which was increased to $2024 million in June 5. In February 2023, information appeared that Ignatova had long been killed. However, these claims were later refuted.
According to Der Spiegel, German authorities are searching for the woman in South Africa. However, her exact location, as well as whether she is alive or not, is also unknown.
