OneCoin Mastermind Vanished with $11.5 Billion in Bitcoin, Lawsuit Claims

Ruja Ignatova walked away with 230,000 bitcoins when she disappeared in October 2017. That's $11.5 billion in today's money.

The Crypto Currency Resolution Trust filed suit in April 2021 against onecoinico.io in the British Indian Ocean Territory Supreme Court, claiming Ignatova made off with the massive stash. US-based attorney Jonathan Levy represents the trust.

The numbers tell a troubling story. When Ignatova vanished, those 230,000 bitcoins were worth just over $1 billion at the average price of $4,600. Today, with Bitcoin trading around $50,000, that haul is worth nearly twelve times more.

This contradicts what her own brother said. In late 2019, Konstantin Ignatov testified that Ruja only took $500 million. The lawsuit's figure is double that claim. The discrepancy remains unexplained.

Before disappearing, Ignatova granted Power of Attorney to two men: H.E. Sheikh Saoud bin Sultan Al Qassimi and Mimoun Madani. Sheikh Saoud holds another crucial title: Secretary-General of the Intergovernmental Collaborative Action Fund for Excellence, a New York nonprofit that issued Ignatova diplomatic credentials. Those credentials likely gave her the cover to travel freely and eventually vanish without a trace.

The Dubai connection runs deep. Sheikh Saoud's father is H.E. Sheikh Faisal Bin Sultan Bin Salem Al Qassimi, CEO of United Arab Bank and one of the wealthiest men in the UAE. On October 1, 2015, two years before Ignatova's disappearance, Sheikh Saoud purchased OneCoin's assets. His payment: 230,000 bitcoins delivered across four USB drive wallets. The lawsuit describes it as "the largest known bitcoin transaction" to date, making Ignatova the second largest Bitcoin holder ever recorded.

How that transaction actually worked financially remains murky. What's clear is that Sheikh Saoud became sole shareholder and Director of OneCoin Limited, the front company for the massive OneCoin scheme.

The arrangement between Ignatova and Sheikh Saoud grew darker in court. In October 2019, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York found that the crime fraud exception applied to any communications between Ignatova and Sheikh Saoud's One Coin Ltd. They were openly engaged in criminal enterprise.

Mimoun Madani, a UAE resident, received a Power of Attorney from Ignatova dated after her public disappearance. A notary authenticated the document, raising questions about how that's possible if she truly vanished.

Federal authorities in New York are handling most OneCoin prosecutions in the US. Whether investigators have contacted Sheikh Saoud or ICAFE about their role in the scheme remains unclear. ICAFE is based in New York, the heart of the investigation.

🤖 Quick Answer

Who is Ruja Ignatova and what are the allegations against her?
Ruja Ignatova is the founder of OneCoin who disappeared in October 2017. According to a lawsuit filed by the Crypto Currency Resolution Trust in 2021, she allegedly absconded with 230,000 bitcoins valued at approximately $11.5 billion in current market terms, though her brother previously claimed she took only $500 million.

What is the financial significance of Ignatova's alleged theft?
When Ignatova disappeared, the 230,000 bitcoins were worth approximately $1 billion at the then-current price of $4,600 per coin. With Bitcoin's subsequent appreciation to around $50,000, the same amount is now valued at nearly $11.5 billion, representing a twelvefold increase in worth over several years.

**Where was the lawsuit

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