The United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are promoting the filing of claims by victims of OneCoin fraud. Under the Ministry of Justice arrangement, investors who purchased OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and eventually incurred net losses were required to submit their applications by 30 June through a special compensation route.

Claims window opened

The Ministry of Justice has set up a special portal for victims to formally submit petitions in this case. However, the submission of an application does not imply that compensation is certain, and the eventual release of funds remains dependent on the outcome of the audit and the availability of assets.

  • Application deadline: 30 June
  • Applicable purchase time: 2014 to 2019
  • Channel of application: Ministry of Justice dedicated portal

OneCoin used to sell "Challenge Bitcoin"

The OneCoin project was launched in Bulgaria in 2014 and promoted by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. The project was then packaged as a virtual currency “possibly replacing bitcoin” and was replicated globally through a multi-level marketing model.

The project directed the sale of so-called financial packages to investors and claimed to be accompanied by tokens and software systems that could be used for “mining”. Victims are also encouraged to continue to develop the participation of relatives and friends, leading to a typical pyramid expansion. Subsequent case investigations revealed that these tokens and related systems had no real value.

Global losses exceed $4 billion

Public information indicates that the cumulative losses of global bulk investors in this case exceeded $4 billion. Given that the encryption industry was still in its early stages, this was particularly significant in similar cases.

One of the main persons involved in the case, Greenwood, was sentenced to 20 years federal imprisonment on 12 September 2023. Another core figure, Ignatova, is still at large. According to the FBI, a maximum of $5 million is available for any verifiable leads that can directly facilitate their arrest or conviction.