Court documents unsealed on September 24th reveal Konstantin Ignatov, a key figure in the OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme, lied under oath during the 2019 trial of Mark Scott. Ignatov’s testimony about discarding a laptop at the Las Vegas border was contradicted by evidence showing he instead provided the device to an associate for return to OneCoin headquarters in Bulgaria.

Ignatov testified in November 2019 that U.S. border patrol confiscated his laptop and phone upon his arrival in the country. He claimed the laptop was later returned to him, and that he disposed of it in a public trash bin on the Las Vegas Strip. This account was presented as part of the government’s case against Scott, who was accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars for OneCoin.

However, filings in Scott’s case state that Ignatov actually gave the laptop to Duncan Arthur. Arthur, who was traveling with Ignatov at the time, then flew the computer out of the United States and returned it to Veska Ignatova, the mother of Konstantin and OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova. This information came to light through Arthur’s voluntary cooperation with investigators.

Scott’s legal team argues that this revelation of perjury by the government’s star witness casts serious doubt on the fairness of Scott’s trial. They contend that Ignatov’s testimony was central to the prosecution’s evidence and that the Department of Justice was aware of the false statement as early as June 2021, but failed to disclose it to the defense. Arthur reportedly contacted an investigator after realizing Ignatov had testified falsely.

The defense claims the "interest of justice" requires Scott's conviction to be vacated and a new trial granted. They point to Ignatov's alleged perjury regarding the laptop as evidence of his untrustworthiness. Scott's attorneys also cite another alleged instance of false testimony concerning Ignatov's first meeting with Scott, claiming Ignatov misrepresented the date and attendees of a meeting with Ruja Ignatova and Irina Dilkinska.

Despite these claims, the government maintains that Ignatov’s alleged perjury is not material to Scott’s guilty verdict. The prosecution argues that the evidence against Scott, including the laundering of $400 million in OneCoin funds, remains strong and unaffected by the inconsistencies in Ignatov's testimony. The court has yet to rule on the motion for a new trial.