On December 12, 2025, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) cleared Carter-Ruck attorney Claire Frances Gill of all wrongdoing in connection with her 2017 legal threats on behalf of OneCoin, per The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The SDT ruled the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)’s evidence was “plainly insufficient,” based on “hindsight” rather than proof of misconduct, per Carter-Ruck plans to seek £1M GBP in costs from the SRA. Gill’s defence argued solicitors are bound to advance clients’ cases unless they know claims are false, creating a due diligence loophole.
OneCoin, a $4B Ponzi scheme led by Ruja Ignatova, collapsed by 2017. Yet, Gill sent threats in April 2017 despite warnings from 25+ countries (e.g., Hungary, Finland, Italy, India) and a UK investigation launched in September 2016, per. The SDT decision absolves Gill of liability for not researching OneCoin’s fraud, per. Helen Taylor from Spotlight on Corruption criticised the ruling as allowing lawyers to act as “guns for hire” without ethical responsibility. Carter-Ruck and Chelgate successfully pressured the FCA to remove a OneCoin warning in 2016.
The SDT ruling adds to UK authorities’ criticized OneCoin’s response: a 2019 dropped investigation, Wembley Arena hosting a 2016 promo event, £30M returned to a money launderer in 2023, and a 2023 refusal to extradite the launderer to the U.S., per. No UK resident has faced repercussions despite enabling Ignatova’s fraud, per. Bitcoin (BTC) ($113,234) and Ethereum (ETH) ($4,070) remain unaffected, per CoinMarketCap, but OneCoin’s legacy highlights MLM crypto risks.
The decision may deter due diligence in legal threats, encouraging abuse in fraud cases, per. Investors should report scams to sec.gov or fsa.gov.uk and avoid MLM schemes. Diversify into USDC or ETH with stop-losses below BTC’s $112,000, per TradingView. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for updates. The UK’s OneCoin leniency contrasts with U.S. prosecutions (Irina Dilkinska sentenced in 2024), underscoring global regulatory gaps in 2025.
