site.btaUS Offers USD 5 Mln Reward for Information Leading to Ruja Ignatova's Arrest

Ruja Ignatova will be indicted in absentia, which will allow the Bulgarian authorities to take the necessary action to seize her illegally acquired assets, said acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov at a press conference on Wednesday. The event was attended by US Ambassador Kenneth Merten and Plamen Tonchev, Chairman of the State Agency for National Security (SANS).

The US government on Wednesday announced a new reward of up to USD 5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Bulgarian-born German citizen Ruja Ignatova, Ambassador Merten said.

In June 2021, Bulgarian national Irina Dilkinska was arrested in Sofia and on March 20 was handed over to the US authorities on charges of involvement in a criminal group set up to commit fraud and money laundering. She is believed to have been an accomplice in the alleged criminal activity carried out by Ignatova.

In 2022. the BBC reported that missing Cryptoqueen Ignatova had made the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) list of 10 most wanted persons. Ignatova is accused of embezzling more than USD 4 billion, which she tricked people into investing in her cryptocurrency trading company, OneCoin. However, this turned out to be a scam.

Ignatova has been missing since 2017, when an arrest warrant was issued against her in the US. She was last seen boarding a plane from Bulgaria to Greece, after which she disappeared.