Victims of Ruzha Ignatova will seek billions of euros from Bulgaria. Those deceived by the crypto queen intend to take our country to the European Union Court in Luxembourg, NOVA reported.
Proclaimed the “crypto queen”, Ruzha Ignatova is accused of one of the largest financial frauds in the world worth 4 billion dollars. Her story is becoming a sensation for the world media and inspiration for books and films. But if all this sounds like a plot from a Hollywood production, the slap of reality comes quickly. Last week, a letter arrived at the editorial office of “Wake Up”. It is also addressed to Borislav Sarafov – Acting Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria. It states that “Bulgaria has not taken any action regarding the victims of these crimes“ and if “after 30 days no measures are taken, the OneCoin victims, represented by a law firm, will petition the European Commission to initiate infringement proceedings against Bulgaria“.
“Since November 2021, we have been in a unilateral process with the Bulgarian government – for more than three years now we have been trying to get answers regarding the criminal prosecution of Ruja Ignatova, OneCoin and other related persons, as well as the possibility of compensation for victims from all over the world – people in Bulgaria, the EU, who have lost billions of dollars. We are also trying to understand what happened to the profits from OneCoin. We are starting to put pressure on Bulgaria, as we have officially notified them that we are not satisfied with the progress of the case – "There seems to be virtually no progress," said Dr. Jonathan Levy, a defense attorney for some of the victims.
Have any of the victims, any of the clients you represent, received justice so far?
No, no one has received justice or cooperation from any government. For example, the US has confiscated several million dollars, but we don't know the exact amount. They admit that they may do something for the victims in the future, but it is a small part of the OneCoin money. We are also disappointed with them and will file a complaint with the Trump administration against the Department of Justice. In other countries like Germany, England or Dubai, no one has received anything. It seems that the victims will not receive any funds and that apart from those seized by the US government, the remaining funds will remain in the hands of the criminals. We intend to hold Bulgaria primarily responsible because not only was OneCoin based in Bulgaria, but it continues to operate from there. This is the most absurd thing.
What outcome do you expect from European Union legislation?
The European Union could, of course, launch an infringement procedure against Bulgaria, which is also being considered on other issues. This is not unusual - the European Commission could say to Bulgaria: “Look, you are not complying with our directives. You have to comply or there will be consequences”. Another option is for the victims to sue Bulgaria in the European courts, as I mentioned. If we go down this path, we will hold Bulgaria responsible for all the billions, because we believe that this is not just a matter of failure to investigate, but of deliberately creating a protection and structure in support of crypto criminals.
So you are saying that there is a possibility that Bulgaria could be held financially responsible for the funds misused by Ruja? And do I understand correctly that Bulgaria will ultimately have to pay for what Ruja stole?
There is legal precedent in the European Union that a member state can be held liable for damages caused to victims. So that will be a decision of the European Court, but that is one of the things we could do and will seek to do – namely, to seek reparations from the Bulgarian government.
If Bulgaria is held liable and has to pay, will that money come from the citizens’ taxes?
We think that Bulgaria has some idea where some of the OneCoin money is. Maybe that would be an incentive for them to finally do their job and confiscate some of these funds. Ultimately, the amount will have to be paid by the Bulgarian government.
Where will they get the funds – that's their problem.
I could be wrong, but I've never heard of a country paying for the crimes of a single person.
Yes, but again, they won't pay directly for Ruja, but for the state's failure to enforce justice. So, in this case, no, they are not responsible for Ruja herself, but the moment the state starts partnering with her, defending her, along with her heirs, then she is responsible for that. So yes, filing a criminal case in Sofia that leads nowhere, and the lack of any attempt at a real investigation, doesn't count. That's like covering up a crime.
Let's talk in numbers, if we can, of course. Can you give an approximate estimate of the financial liability that Bulgaria could face?
Yes, from the perspective of the people I represent, it's probably a few hundred million dollars. If other people get involved in the case, it could be a few billion. It all depends on which victims will file claims and how big their group is.
How many people do you represent? How many clients do you have who were defrauded by Ruja Ignatova?
We have about 50, but some of them have very large claims. So it's a small but vocal group.
Can you share some of the most significant financial losses that your clients have suffered because of OneCoin? What is the most striking amount?
Yes, we have clients with losses of 50 million, 10 million, many with seven- and eight-figure amounts. So there are cases with losses of 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 50 million, if we count what they were promised in OneCoin. If we are talking about real out-of-pocket losses, since some paid in bitcoins, then the losses may be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
And when will we find out what the European Union will decide?
Usually the European Commission acts within a year. The process involves a lot of correspondence – it's paperwork.
And now the million dollar question – is there any trace of Ruzha?
Yes, we know that the FBI is actively working on the case. I am in contact with them and I regularly receive signals. We pass them on to the FBI. There is a $5 million reward announced for Ruzha. According to my information, I think she is in the Persian Gulf region. There has been some activity there recently – not only in August, when funds were transferred, but also other things that I cannot share. But she is there. The American authorities, the FBI, are at least actively looking for her and are aware of the situation. Are these criminals so brilliant that they manage to do all this in front of our eyes and no one can touch them? No, they are stupid criminals. Many of their actions were simply absurd. They continue to operate OneCoin after the leading figures have already been indicted. What kind of people do such things? Just stupid criminals. But when the government doesn't even want to question them, they will just keep acting.