{"id":31809,"date":"2019-11-14T15:40:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T15:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packetstormsecurity.com\/news\/view\/30682\/Cryptoqueen-Brother-Admits-Role-In-OneCoin-Fraud.html"},"modified":"2019-11-14T15:40:57","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T15:40:57","slug":"cryptoqueen-brother-admits-role-in-onecoin-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/cryptoqueen-brother-admits-role-in-onecoin-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Cryptoqueen Brother Admits Role In OneCoin Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"KonstantinImage copyright<\/span> OneLife\/OneCoin\/YouTube<\/span> <\/span>
Image caption<\/span> Konstantin Ignatov has pleaded guilty <\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Konstantin Ignatov, the brother of “missing cryptoqueen” Dr Ruja Ignatova, has admitted his role in the OneCoin crypto-currency fraud.<\/p>\n

Ignatov pleaded guilty to several charges, including money laundering and fraud.<\/p>\n

OneCoin and the disappearance of its co-founder, Dr Ruja Ignatova, have been the subject of a BBC Sounds podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Investigators believe as much as \u00a34bn was raised globally in what is said to have amounted to a Ponzi scheme.<\/p>\n

The Bulgaria-based organisation behind OneCoin Ltd continues to operate and denies all wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Ignatov was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in March.<\/p>\n

He signed a plea deal document on 4 October – but it was made public, on 12 November, only after being obtained by Inner City Press journalist Matthew Russell Lee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By complying with the terms of the plea deal, Ignatov will not face further criminal charges for his role in OneCoin, other than any criminal tax violations that may emerge.<\/p>\n

Image copyright<\/span> OneCoin\/YouTube<\/span> <\/span>
Image caption<\/span> Dr Ruja Ignatova is still missing <\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The document says Ignatov’s cooperation with the authorities may “reveal activities of individuals who might use violence” against him or his family.<\/p>\n

It suggests he could apply to the US witness protection scheme and be assigned a new identity.<\/p>\n

He has not yet been sentenced but faces up to 90 years in prison for his role in the fraud.<\/p>\n

Disappearance clues<\/h2>\n

Ignatov has also been testifying in the trial of a US lawyer accused of laundering some of the proceeds from OneCoin.<\/p>\n

Mark Scott is accused of routing approximately $400m (\u00a3310m) out of the US while trying to conceal the true ownership and source of the funds.<\/p>\n

He faces one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering and another to commit bank fraud. He has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

During that trial, Ignatov has revealed more details about the disappearance of his sister Dr Ruja Ignatova.<\/p>\n

According to his testimony, Dr Ignatova was living in Sofia, Bulgaria before she vanished, the Inner City Press<\/a> reports. <\/p>\n

He confirmed that Dr Ignatova had told him critics of OneCoin were “haters”, and that she was “very tired”.<\/p>\n

She was afraid somebody close to her was going to give her up to the the FBI, he said.<\/p>\n

He claims she told him she had got hold of a “big passport” and asked him to get her plane tickets to Vienna, Austria and then Athens, Greece.<\/p>\n

Ignatov said he had not spoken to his sister since she had disappeared. He had hired a private investigator to find her but had been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

The US government has said it expects Mr Scott’s trial to conclude next week.<\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/figure>\n

Analysis<\/h2>\n

By Jamie Bartlett, The Missing Cryptoqueen presenter<\/h2>\n

Ignatov’s plea deal will come as a great relief to OneCoin’s critics.<\/p>\n

Those who were threatened with legal action for calling OneCoin a scam will now feel vindicated. <\/p>\n

Even though I have spent so long investigating this case, I was surprised to see the brother turn so dramatically against his sister.<\/p>\n

Ignatov seems to be implying even he was duped by her.<\/p>\n

There is nothing definitive about her whereabouts yet – but there are certainly some new leads to follow. <\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/figure>\n