On September 18, 2025, prosecutors in Bielefeld, Germany, filed charges against Ruja Ignatova, the fugitive founder of the OneCoin Ponzi scheme, to prevent the statute of limitations from expiring, per Fakti. As a German national, Ignatova could have faced earlier action, but no confirmed sightings have occurred since her disappearance in October 2017, per. The indictment, led by head prosecutor Carsten Nowak, aims to extend the limitations by five years if the Bielefeld district court proceeds, buying time for her potential detention, per. Assets worth €28 million were confiscated during the investigation, per.
OneCoin, launched by Ignatova in 2014, defrauded over 3 million investors of $4 billion worldwide through a fake cryptocurrency pyramid scheme, per. Promoted as a Bitcoin rival, it used false claims of a “private blockchain” to lure victims, with heavy recruitment in China, India, and Africa, per. The U.S. DOJ indicted Ignatova in 2017 for wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering, placing her on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 2022, per. A $5 million U.S. State Department reward remains active for information leading to her arrest, per.
Avoid MLM crypto schemes promising high returns; verify via sec.gov or BaFin databases, per. Diversify into USDC or ETH ($4,070) with stop-losses below BTC’s $112,000, per TradingView. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for updates. Ignatova’s case may spur global asset freezes, like the UK’s 2024 order on her holdings, per. With $4B in losses, it’s a stark reminder of Ponzi risks in 2025.
