The former companion of Ruja Ignatova, the creator of the Onecoin Ponzi Scheme, was sentenced to five years in prison for laundering millions of dollars in proceeds from the notorious crypto fraud that defrauded investors around the world.
Ruja’s Ex-Partner Jailed for Money Laundering Onecoin
Gilbert Armenta, ex-boyfriend of Onecoin pyramid founder Ruja Ignatova, received the sentence from a US court, according to Bloomberg Law. He is accused of helping to launder around $300 million from one of the greatest ever crypto Ponzi schemes.
In 2018, Armenta pleaded guilty to conspiring with wire fraud, money laundering and extortion concerning Onecoin. Despite having cooperated with prosecutors for two years in the investigation of the scam, he then committed other offences which violated the agreement.
Onecoin was launched in 2014 as an international multi-level marketing scheme based upon a cryptocurrency that, despite its billing, never existed as such. “Bitcoin killer.” Personal records of Onecoin show that more than 3 million people have invested over $4 billion in the venture since 2016.
Bulgarian-born German citizen Ruja Ignatova disappeared in October 2017: she boarded a Ryanair flight in Sofia heading for Athens. She is still wanted by Interpol, Europol and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Onecoin co-founder and Ruja’s brother, Konstantin Ignatov, was taken into custody in Los Angeles in 2019, and pleaded guilty to his part in the fraud, agreeing to US witness protection and covering all expenses. In December 2020, another co-founder, British-Swedish citizen Karl Sebastian Greenwood, also pleaded guilty to his involvement in the scheme.
Crypto Pyramid Mastermind Ruja Ignatova Is Still Missing
Reports have periodically surfaced with information about Ignatova’s whereabouts and activities. Last July, the Greek daily Kathimerini reported that Hellenic Police had attempted to locate and arrest the woman based on intelligence that indicated she was in the country and attending conferences with unidentified people.
In January this year the British media found out that a $15 million penthouse had been purchased by the “missing Cryptoreine” through a company based on the island of Guernsey. The BBC reported that the matter was being investigated by Kensington Council. The listing of the penthouse had been approved by authorities in Germany.
The Bielefeld City prosecutor’s office has charged the German lawyer who worked for Ignatova, Martin Breidenbach, with money laundering for the transfer of €20 million (over $21 million) for the purchase of the four-bedroom flat. In October, he appeared in court with two other Onecoin associates, to answer for fraud and other crimes.
Do you think law enforcement officials will eventually find Onecoin founding founder Ruja Ignatova? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
