Bulgarian Member of Crypto Scam OneCoin to Face Justice in the US
The authorities of the United States pressed charges against Irina Dilkinska (who served as Head of Legal and Compliance at OneCoin) for her alleged role in the infamous crypto scam and deported her from Bulgaria to the US.
She could receive a maximum potential prison sentence of 20 years for allegedly committing wire fraud and additional 20 years for supposedly violating money laundering laws.
A Possible Jail Time for Another OneCoin Member
In a recent press release, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Dilkinska will appear before United States Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn. US Attorney Damian Williams claimed the 41-year-old Bulgarian allegedly enabled the crypto pyramid scheme OneCoin to launder millions of dollars of illicit profits through shell companies.
“Dilkinska helped perpetuate a wide-ranging scheme with millions of victims and billions of dollars in losses, and she will now face justice for her alleged crimes,” he added.
FBI Assistant Director Michael Driscoll maintained that she helped her co-conspirator – Mark Scott – launder nearly $400 million in OneCoin proceeds. In addition, she burned key documents and sent incriminating messages to Konstantin Ignatov when learning of Scott’s arrest. Some of the texts supposedly seen by the officials read:
“See this!!!!!;” “Something is going on!!!!!;” “If this is true, I need the mega lawyers for whom [co-conspirator FRANK SCHNEIDER] was talking!!!”
The US DOJ further said Dilkinska managed a property belonging to the head of OneCoin – Ruja Ignatova (better known as “the Cryptoqueen”).
Following her extradition to the United States, the Bulgarian was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She could serve up to 40 years in federal prison if found guilty of both crimes.
Gilbert Armenta – the former boyfriend of Ruja Ignatova – also faced justice recently. The Southern District of New York (SDNY) Courthouse sentenced him to five years in jail for laundering $300 million in proceeds generated from the OneCoin fraud.
What About “the Cryptoqueen?”
Despite the recent arrests of numerous individuals connected to OneCoin, the whereabouts of the scheme’s leader remain unknown.
Several coverages have indicated that Ignatova, who was last spotted in 2017 in Athens, Greece, could be hiding in a luxurious yacht in the Mediterranean sea. The theory sounds plausible since authorities have no jurisdiction to detain people who are twelve nautical miles away from the coast.
A recent Bulgarian source hinted that “the Cryptoqueen” might have been brutally murdered in November 2018. The hitman, acting on behalf of a local drug kingpin (who was linked to her scam), purportedly chopped her body and threw her remains in the Ionian sea.
On the other hand, a penthouse worth nearly $15 million (bought by Ignatova several years ago) re-appeared on the London real estate market earlier this year, suggesting that she could be alive.
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