Onecoin fraud: Prosecutor confiscates millions in assets from Ruja Ignatova

Even just over a year after the Bielefeld public prosecutor's office brought charges against the inventor of the alleged cryptocurrency Onecoin, the international search for Ruja Ignatova continues for fraud. Her whereabouts are still unknown, but the public prosecutor's office reported that they have now managed to collect around 10.1 million euros from the assets of the self-proclaimed "crypto queen" for the benefit of injured parties.

The Bielefeld authorities brought charges against the lawyer in September 2025 in order to prevent the fraudulent acts she was accused of from becoming statute-barred. A good 17,500 victims are named in the indictment and a total loss of 57 million euros - based on a limited period between 2015 and 2016. Millions of investors worldwide are said to have been affected and billions in damages were incurred. According to the accusation, the defendant had set up a fraudulent pyramid scheme to distribute her invented cryptocurrency. The company headquarters was Greven in Münsterland.

Senior public prosecutor Carsten Nowak described that the special department for white-collar criminal proceedings in the Bielefeld public prosecutor's office had managed, with the help of international legal assistance, to collect almost 10.1 million euros from the personal assets of the wanted people. The money comes from the sale of two condominiums in London and will go towards compensating victims.

Affected investors from Germany and several other European countries who paid amounts into accounts of the payment service provider IMS GmbH from Greven between December 9, 2015 and August 15, 2016 could contact the public prosecutor's office - with proof of the payments made. It will then be checked whether claims for compensation exist. The “legally determined injured parties” are known by name, but this does not apply to all addresses, explained Nowak.

The lawyer traveled from Sofia to Athens on October 25, 2017 and has not been seen since. Since then, photos have been used to search for the woman, who grew up in southern Germany. The public prosecutor's office appealed that anyone who could provide information about the defendant's whereabouts should contact the State Criminal Police Office in Düsseldorf. The acts she is accused of will expire in the summer of 2031.