New trail to disappeared ‘cryptoqueen’

A small article in a local English newspaper went viral this week because it was linked to the infamous “crypto queen” Ruja Ignatova. She became notorious because of the OneCoin pyramid scheme, which earned her (and her partner) some $5 billion between 2014 and 2016. Until this day, Ruja remains missing. The mystery surrounding her became one of the most listened to podcasts of the past few years.

OneCoin

Karl Greenwood co-founded the cryptocurrency Onecoin with Ruja in 2014. Both claimed that this cryptocurrency would become the new Bitcoin (when that one was still trading around $1,000) and amassed billions of dollars in this manner.

However, from the outset, it was clear that Karl and Ruja had conceived the plan to create a pyramid scheme where profit could only be made by selling more OneCoin to the next person.

🔍 Guernsey Court Seizes $11.4M in OneCoin Fraud Proceeds

A court in Guernsey upheld a German forfeiture order, leading to the seizure of $11.4 million linked to the “Cryptoqueen” OneCoin fraud scheme. The funds were identified as proceeds from the crypto fraud operation.

— Crynet (@crynetio) January 21, 2026

The problem was that OneCoin never actually launched, and new investors constantly had to be found. When authorities worldwide learned that some 5 million people had invested in it, they opened a criminal investigation. When Ruja and Karl saw the police raiding their site, they quickly fled. Karl was arrested, and Ruja escaped.

Guernsey

The remaining $4 billion was never recovered, and Ruja remains missing to this day.

Rumors suggest she has since assumed another identity and undergone facial plastic surgery.

One day left until BBC’s The Missing Cryptoqueen unveils 4 jaw-dropping new episodes. Don’t miss this —tune in here below! 👇

22/01/2026

BBC Sounds: https://t.co/w3V94TbCnz

Apple: https://t.co/ebOJJxcmSO pic.twitter.com/bf2CtLMxHo

— Jen McAdam (@JenMcAdamUK) January 21, 2026

However, this week, a new lead surfaced when a German court investigating the OneCoin scandal seized a bank account in Guernsey. Approximately 10 million euros were stolen, which were indeed registered to Ruja Ignatova. Will the crypto queen finally be caught this year?