BULGARIAN WOMAN STOLE $5 BILLION AND VANISHED: Ruja Ignatova disappeared without a trace after the “scam of the century”!

The incredible story of Bulgarian “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova captured worldwide attention in September 2019, when a BBC podcast began reporting on the woman wanted by the FBI for allegedly defrauding investors of $4.5 billion through her fake cryptocurrency scheme.

BBC programs Eye Investigations and Panorama recently examined her close ties to a suspected Bulgarian organized crime boss, as well as claims that she may have been brutally murdered.

Ignatova, who was born in Bulgaria, raised in Germany, and graduated from Oxford University, enjoyed a successful career in finance before launching the cryptocurrency OneCoin in 2014. She persuaded millions of people around the world to invest in OneCoin, promising returns that would surpass those enjoyed by early Bitcoin investors. In reality, Ignatova—known to many as “Dr. Ruja”—allegedly built a sophisticated investment fraud scheme that lacked the digital infrastructure underpinning legitimate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

When investigators in Germany and the United States tracked Ignatova down in October 2017, she boarded a Ryanair flight from Sofia to Athens one morning and was never seen again.

American investigator Richard Reinhardt, who launched the OneCoin investigation for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) alongside the FBI, told the BBC about a key figure whom investigators had never publicly identified before. According to the report, the man responsible for Ignatova’s security was Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis, better known as Taki.

“An influential individual connected to drug trafficking was allegedly responsible for her physical protection. Taki appeared repeatedly throughout the story; it was not a one-time occurrence,” Reinhardt said in his first interview since retiring at the end of 2023.

His comments were consistent with previously published information. U.S. prosecutors stated in 2019 that Ignatova’s head of security was a major organized crime figure in Bulgaria, though they did not identify him by name.

“We have evidence that a very significant, if not the largest drug trafficker in Bulgarian history, was closely connected to OneCoin and served as Ruja Ignatova’s personal bodyguard,” an assistant prosecutor said at the time.

The same “head of security” was later described by another U.S. prosecutor in court as being linked to Ignatova’s disappearance.

According to Reinhardt, Ignatova was a far more sophisticated criminal than many people realize.

“She is a sophisticated criminal combined with a drug dealer or mafia boss on steroids,” he said.

This theory appears to be supported by Europol reports reviewed by the BBC, showing that Bulgarian police had established connections between Ignatova and Taki before her disappearance in 2017. Authorities suspected Taki of using OneCoin’s financial network to launder drug money.

In Bulgaria, Taki has attained an almost mythical reputation, comparable to a local version of El Chapo or Pablo Escobar. He is suspected of being a major organized crime leader and drug trafficker. Bulgarian authorities have investigated him and his associates for armed robbery, drug smuggling, and murder, but he has never been successfully prosecuted.

“When we talk about Taki, we are talking about the mafia boss of Bulgaria. He is extremely powerful,” said former Bulgarian Deputy Minister Ivan Hristanov, who investigated allegations in 2022 that Taki operated a criminal network with the help of corrupt officials.

“He is a ghost. You never see him. You only hear about him. He speaks through other people. If you do not listen, you simply disappear. The only person who could have protected Ignatova from all those investigations, including foreign agencies, was Taki,” Hristanov said.

Taki is believed to be living in Dubai, where Ignatova purchased a luxury penthouse and where tens of millions of dollars from the OneCoin scheme allegedly flowed into her bank accounts. While it remains unclear how the two met or whether Taki was involved with OneCoin from the beginning, multiple sources claim they were very close and that he served as godfather to Ignatova’s daughter. A Bulgarian source close to Ignatova told the BBC that she may have paid Taki as much as €100,000 per month for protection.

Some investigators believe Ignatova’s protector may ultimately have become her executioner.

Bulgarian investigative journalist Dimitar Stoyanov and colleagues at investigative outlet bird.bg obtained a police report in 2022 that had been found in the home of a murdered Bulgarian police officer.

According to the document, a police informant recounted details allegedly heard from Taki’s brother-in-law during a drunken conversation. The informant claimed Ignatova was murdered on Taki’s orders in late 2018, after which her body was dismembered and thrown from a yacht into the Ionian Sea.

Stoyanov said such an outcome was entirely plausible.

Bulgarian officials confirmed the authenticity of the police document, and according to Stoyanov, several of Taki’s criminal associates believe the theory that he ordered her killing is accurate.

However, the BBC was unable to independently verify the claim. Associates reportedly argued that the international manhunt for Ignatova had become a liability for Taki, who wanted to erase any links to the OneCoin fraud.

Among those associates was Krasimir Kamenov, known as Kuro, who was wanted by Interpol on murder-related charges. Stoyanov said Kuro told him he once heard Taki discussing criminal activities in Ignatova’s presence. When Kuro questioned whether that was wise, Taki allegedly replied: “Don’t worry, she’s as good as dead.”

Kuro also claimed he spoke with CIA agents about Taki, including allegations that Taki ordered Ignatova’s killing. Sources close to Kuro confirmed to the BBC that the meeting took place in late 2022.

In May 2023, Kuro was murdered in his home in Cape Town along with his wife and two associates. South African police are still searching for the killers, but Hristanov believes Kuro’s murder was connected to Taki.

Since publishing allegations regarding Ignatova’s death, journalist Dimitar Stoyanov says he and his colleagues have received death threats, forcing him to temporarily leave Bulgaria for the fourth time in his career.

Although Stoyanov does not claim to know the motive behind the alleged murder, property records and witness statements indicate that after Ignatova’s disappearance, much of her Bulgarian real estate came under the control of individuals connected to Taki.

Taki has never been arrested in connection with Ignatova’s alleged murder. Her body has never been found, and investigators say there is insufficient evidence to prosecute him.

Nevertheless, former IRS investigator Reinhardt believes Ignatova is dead. While he has seen no evidence directly linking Taki to her disappearance, he said the scenario fits the methods often employed by drug cartels.

“There is no honor among thieves. Knowing how violent cartels can be, if Taki believed she posed a threat to him, he would probably resort to murder before risking being caught,” Reinhardt said.

Ignatova was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 2022.

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