There are new developments on the trial of Konstantin Ignatova, the acclaimed CEO of OneCoin cryptocurrency token scam.
Konstantin is the brother to Dr. Ruja Ignatova, the founder of OneCoin. The scheme was a fraudulent digital token that was sold to investors in exchange for ‘fiat’ currencies, mostly Euro, between 2014 to 2017 when it collapsed.
While Ruja has been in hiding with no known public appearance on the basis of OneCoin, Konstantin was the defacto face of the Ponzi scheme.
In March, Konstantin was arrested while leaving the US for Bulgaria (the founding home of OneCoin) at the Los Angeles International Airport. Apparently but unknowing to him, the US Department of Justice, DoJ, had filed for his arrest with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, the agency that effected his arrest.
The DoJ’s case against Konstantin is now suggesting that OneCoin is must have defrauded its investors to the tune of $1.2 billion within three years of its active operations.
The DoJ was very thorough in its investigation citing several digging done to bank account records, activities of OneCoin members and interviews with various current and past members of the scheme. The DoJ concluded that its investigation revealed that:
‘Has revealed (it) is, in fact, a fraudulent scheme‘.
‘During its prime (late 2014 to late 2017), the DOJ alleges OneCoin solicited €3.3 billion EUR from investors ($3.7 billion USD),” the DoJ said in its charge statement.
Linking Konstantin to Ruja and every activity of OneCoin, the DoJ explained that:
Konstantin Ignatov is the brother of Ruja Ignatova, OneCoin’s founder, and top leader until her disappearance from public view, in or about October 2017.
“Starting in late 2017, Ignatov assumed high-level positions at OneCoin, rising to the top leadership position in mid-2018. The investigation has revealed that before ascending to OneCoin leadership in late 2017, Ignatov served as Ruja’s personal assistant. In that role, Ignatov scheduled appointments, made travel arrangements, and managed a personal calendar for Ruja, among other significant responsibilities.”
“Since December 2017, Konstantin Ignatov has functioned as a high-level executive, promoter, and spokesperson for the OneCoin organization, appearing at OneCoin-OneLife events worldwide, including Thailand, Singapore, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bulgaria, France, and Spain.”
The investigation has revealed that in this role, Ignatov has made fraudulent representations to investors about OneCoin’s structure, value, usability, and future public offering.”
During today’s hearing, Konstantin pleaded not guilty to charges. However, BehindMLM reported that there could be a plea bargain in the offing because details of negotiations and discussions between his lawyers and the DoJ were not revealed.
OneCoin collapsed in 2017 after several years of promising its investors that it would conduct an initial public offering
