The US Department of Justice has opened applications for compensation for victims of the OneCoin cryptocurrency pyramid scheme. Approximately $40 million from confiscated assets is currently available.
From 2014 to 2019, the scheme's organizers defrauded investors worldwide, amassing over $4 billion. The number of victims is estimated at 3.5 million users.
Victims of OneCoin can submit claims through the Kroll program until June 30. Forms are available on the regulator's website.
Legal Actions in the OneCoin Case
OneCoin co-founder Ruja Ignatova remains a fugitive. The FBI added her to its Ten Most Wanted list in June 2022, offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to her arrest.
Source: FBI.The US State Department announced a separate reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Ignatova's capture. While she remains at large, her associates have faced penalties in several countries:
- In October 2022, a lawyer for Ignatova was convicted in Germany for transferring $23.6 million to the Cayman Islands to purchase apartments in London. Alongside him, a married couple who processed $377 million in OneCoin client payments were charged with money laundering, fraud, and banking crimes;
- OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering in the US in December 2022. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined $300 million;
- Legal department head Irina Dilkinska was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $111.44 million. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering in November 2023;
- Lawyer Mark Scott, who laundered $400 million for the pyramid scheme, received a 10-year prison sentence;
- William Morro was charged with concealing OneCoin funds through banks: $35 million in Hong Kong and $6 million in the US. He was arrested on April 23, 2024.
It’s worth noting that the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox postponed creditor payouts by a year, now scheduled for October 2026.