Cryptoqueen fugitive faces High Court showdown
The fugitive Cryptoqueen faces a showdown at the Supreme Court
Fugitive: ‘Cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova
A leading city firm is preparing a lawsuit against fugitive ‘crypto queen’ Ruja Ignatova, who ran a multi-billion pound cryptocurrency scam called OneCoin.
Mishcon de Reya, whose clients include Princess Diana and anti-Brexit activist Gina Miller, is planning a class action lawsuit in the High Court, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The Bulgaria-based scheme has been called “one of the biggest scams in history,” with Ignatova playing a central role in promoting it. She disappeared in 2017 and is on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, with US authorities offering $250,000 (£200,000) for information leading to her arrest.
Mishcon aims to recover the money investors lost in the fraud, with claimants able to apply on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis.
“The claim aims to achieve at least partial compensation for investors who were duped by the deception and suffered losses as a result,” said partner Rhymal Persad.
Launched in 2014, OneCoin marketed itself as a rival to Bitcoin and attracted investors around the world with promises of huge returns.
Backers purchased educational materials and “tokens” that the company said could be converted into OneCoin cryptocurrency and increase in value.
At its peak in mid-2017, the company had amassed more than £4 billion, according to the US Department of Justice, despite mounting warnings from regulators and signals that it was operating as a Ponzi scheme, with new investments paying off existing lenders rather than the company. make a profit.
The company effectively collapsed later that year after US authorities charged Ignatova with fraud and issued an arrest warrant for her, leaving investors out of billions of pounds.