A notorious cryptocurrency scam's money trail leads straight through Seychelles, where notaries appear to have signed off on forged documents worth billions without ever witnessing the signatures.
Investigator Jonathan Levy uncovered the scheme while tracking how Ruja Ignatova, the fugitive founder of the OneCoin pyramid scheme, moved stolen funds through Dubai and beyond. The trail points to Mimoun Madani, a Dutch national living in Dubai, who used a Power of Attorney allegedly signed by Ignatova to transfer billions in OneCoin assets.
The problem: that PoA and others like it were notarized in Seychelles by Bernard Georges, a lawyer and member of parliament who runs Georges & Co from Eden Island. When Levy asked Georges about the documents' authenticity, Georges admitted he never witnessed anyone actually signing them. He claimed his notary seal and signature only attest that the documents exist, not that they're genuine or that the parties who supposedly signed them were present.
That admission is damning. For notarization to mean anything, the notary is supposed to verify that signatories are who they claim to be and that they actually signed the documents in front of them. Georges appears to have skipped that step entirely.
Once Georges rubber-stamped these questionable documents, they were apostilled—certified for use in foreign countries—and presented in the UAE as legitimate. That certification gave forged papers the appearance of legal authority, enabling Madani to move millions.
The scheme goes deeper. Sheikh Al Qassimi, another figure in the OneCoin saga, claims to be managing 230,000 Bitcoin through a separate forged PoA, also notarized and apostilled by a Seychelles notary. That Bitcoin stash is worth over $10 billion at current prices. Al Qassimi is using the forged documents to try seizing up to $1 billion in UAE property.
Levy wrote to Seychelles' Financial Crimes Investigations Unit on August 18th demanding an investigation into the notarial practices that allowed this to happen. He called the situation urgent: Seychelles' lax notarization standards had become the legal foundation for a massive fraud.
Levy also requested a warrant for Madani on charges of uttering forged documents. Whether Seychelles Police take action remains unclear. The island nation's role as a document-laundering hub for international crime may finally draw scrutiny, but only if authorities choose to look.
🤖 Quick Answer
What is the OneCoin money laundering scheme allegedly involving Seychelles notaries?A cryptocurrency scam involving fugitive Ruja Ignatova allegedly used forged documents notarized in Seychelles to transfer billions in stolen assets. Notary Bernard Georges, a Seychelles lawyer and parliament member, reportedly signed off on Powers of Attorney without witnessing signatures, facilitating transfers through Dubai and beyond.
Who is Bernard Georges and what role did he play in the alleged scheme?
Bernard Georges is a Seychelles-based lawyer, parliament member, and owner of Georges & Co on Eden Island. He allegedly notarized fraudulent documents connected to the OneCoin conspiracy, including Powers of Attorney, without properly witnessing the signatures as required by law.
How did the OneCoin funds allegedly move through the financial system?
Investigators traced stolen OneCoin assets moving from Ruja
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