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OneCoin’s Legal Chief Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering and Wire Fraud Charges
Bulgarian national Irina Dilkinska, the legal chief of the cryptocurrency scheme OneCoin, has admitted to money laundering and wire fraud charges in a Manhattan federal court. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York revealed that Dilkinska confessed to aiding in the laundering of $110 million in illicit profits generated through OneCoin, as well as assisting in the running of day-to-day operations at the fraudulent firm.
Up to 10 Years in Prison
Dilkinska, 42, faces up to 10 years in prison for her role in OneCoin’s notorious crypto fraud scheme. Her sentencing hearing has been scheduled for February 14 next year. She was previously charged in March and extradited from Bulgaria to the United States.
OneCoin’s Fraudulent Activities
OneCoin was a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme operated by Bulgaria-based company OneCoin Ltd and Belize-based OneLife Network Ltd, founded by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. The scheme involved a database entry scam that mimicked transactions absent from a genuine blockchain, with no actual mining activity to support the release and circulation of the cryptocurrency.
Between late 2014 and late 2016, OneCoin generated over $4 billion in sales revenue from approximately 3 million investors globally. The company’s other founder, Karl Sebastian Greenwood, received a 20-year prison sentence in September for charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
Hunt for “The Cryptoqueen”
Ruja Ignatova, also known as “The Cryptoqueen,” has been on the run from various international law enforcement agencies since 2017. Bulgarian authorities claimed earlier this year that Ignatova had been murdered in 2018, based on documents obtained by a Bulgarian police officer who had subsequently been murdered. Prosecutors are currently appealing for individuals to provide information regarding Ignatova’s location, and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $250,000 for any information that leads to her apprehension.
