The fugitive vanished in 2017 after boarding a flight from Sofia to Athens
A senior German police investigator has said authorities are working on the assumption that Ruja Ignatova, the fugitive known as the ‘Cryptoqueen’, may still be alive, reigniting global attention on one of the biggest financial fraud cases in modern history.
Ignatova, the charismatic co-founder of the fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme OneCoin, disappeared in 2017 after an arrest warrant was issued in the United States. She has not been seen publicly since boarding a flight from Sofia to Athens, leaving millions of victims worldwide without answers and authorities divided over whether she is dead or still in hiding.
German Investigator Casts Doubt on Death Claims
Speaking on the BBC’s The Missing Cryptoqueen, the anonymous German officer leading an investigation into Ignatova said there was no conclusive evidence to prove she was killed, despite persistent reports suggesting otherwise.
‘Neither Bulgarian police nor any other police force has been able to provide evidence to prove this without doubt,’ the officer said. ‘There’s no certain proof that she is alive, but there’s also no certain proof that she’s dead.’
The comments directly challenge claims reported in 2023 by Bulgaria’s Bureau of Investigative Reporting and Data, which cited leaked police documents alleging Ignatova was murdered in 2018 and her body disposed of in the Ionian Sea.
The Last Confirmed Sighting and Global Sightings
Ignatova was last confirmed alive in October 2017, when she boarded a Ryanair flight from Bulgaria’s capital to Athens. Since then, she has allegedly been spotted in London, Dubai, Thailand, the Mediterranean, the Virgin Islands and Greece, though none of these sightings have been independently verified.
Reports of sightings surged after the FBI placed Ignatova on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, offering a $5 million reward (around £3.7 million) for information leading to her arrest. Investigators say the volume of tips reflects both public interest and the difficulty of tracking a suspect with extensive resources.
Why Police Believe She Could Still Be Hiding
The German investigator said Ignatova’s wealth would have made it relatively easy for her to disappear across borders using false identities and safe havens.
‘With unlimited money, she is in a very good position to continue this for a very long time,’ the officer said, adding that fugitives often evade capture for years before eventually making a mistake.
South Africa and the Cape Town Lead
Speculation about Ignatova’s whereabouts intensified in 2024 after German broadcaster ARD reported she had been sighted alive in Cape Town, a city long associated with organised crime figures on the run.
Asked about the report, the German investigator described it as a ‘good tip’ but said it had not revealed Ignatova’s precise location. The sighting gained further attention due to the killing of Bulgarian mafia-linked figure Krasimir ‘Kuro’ Kamenov in Cape Town in 2023. No arrests have been made in that case.
OneCoin Fraud and Charges Still Hanging
Ignatova co-founded OneCoin in 2014, promoting it as a revolutionary cryptocurrency while allegedly operating a global Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors say the operation defrauded around three million victims of at least $4.8 billion (£3.6 billion).
The FBI says Ignatova is wanted on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. According to the agency, she instructed victims to transfer funds to OneCoin accounts to purchase investment packages that had no real blockchain backing.
An Investigation That Remains Open
Despite years on the run and competing narratives about her fate, investigators insist the case remains active. International agencies continue to assess tips and financial trails linked to the OneCoin scandal, with authorities maintaining that the question of whether Ruja Ignatova is alive or dead has still not been definitively answered.
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