My interview with “cryptoqueen”, today the most wanted woman by FBI

Original version in spanish published in Bloomberg Businessweek Mexico magazine (October 13th, 2022).

A well-known theory in Sociology states that everyone is connected by six degrees of separation. As a journalist it is relatively common to be around public figures, but nobody (or almost nobody) expects to be face to face with a world-class criminal.

It happened to me six years ago, though at the time I was unaware, when I sat for an interview with the self-proclaimed “cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova. In July of this year, the Bulgarian-born, German-raised Ignatova became the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) most wanted woman. The FBI says “Ignatova and others are alleged to have defrauded billions of dollars from investors all over the world” and warn that she is “believed to travel with armed guards and/or associates.”

THE BACKDROP

Our meeting occurred in September 2016, while the scam was ongoing. The timing was perfect as only three years earlier Bitcoin had started its roller coaster ride and jumped in value from $100 to $1,200 in just a few months. That put cryptocurrencies on the radar of investors and ordinary people alike. Appetite grew for investments that could double or triple in value in so little time, especially after global stocks ended 2015 in the red, amid concerns about an economic slowdown in China.

That year I was Markets Editor for El Financiero-Bloomberg and "crypto" was a recurring theme in the newspaper's coverage. Debates about whether these types of assets were reliable were common among investors, regulators and central banks, as well as within the newsroom. Before considering publishing a story on the topic, we always did a thorough analysis.

Among the dozens of emails and calls we received daily in the newsroom, I got an invitation from a respected public relations agency to interview “Dr. Ignatova”, who was visiting Mexico for a few days to present OneCoin, which marketed a cryptocurrency. The interview looked promising. She was a prominent figure in the crypto world and her firm had thousands of partners in Mexico and around the globe. Dubai and Singapore were namedropped several times as venues for OneCoin’s most recent prior events.

Ignatova, 36 at the time, was on a tight schedule in Mexico that included meetings with the media and a presentation with all the firm’s partners in the country. OneCoin was on the verge of its second anniversary, and it touted on social media an upcoming big event in Bangkok to celebrate 2.5 million members of the OneLife "family", OneCoin’s parent company.

THREE STRIKES

Prior to an interview a journalist typically carries out extensive research on the person that will be the subject of the interview, as well as the company or institution they represent. This can include looking for information in financial reports, public records, documents, and of course a review of what the press has already written about the person.

The research into One Coin and Dr. Ignatova produced a mountain of questions. Almost all the findings were sponsored content published across different platforms, that invariably redirected you to OneCoin’s website. Among the findings, was a supposed Bulgarian edition of Forbes magazine with OneCoin creator Ignatova on its cover. But the image was suspicious, to say the least. That was the first strike.

A look at mentions in the press turned up some stories in specialized cryptocurrency media outlets saying that OneCoin might be a scam and that it was being investigated in several European countries. Still, those media outlets weren’t exactly reliable. Even after reaching out to some firms, institutions, and fellow journalists at foreign outlets, I couldn’t get a straight answer about OneCoin or its founder. The second strike.

Lastly, there was a detailed review of OneLife’s website and an explanation of how the business worked. This consisted in acquiring packages of tokens or credits, with prices ranging from 100 Euros to hundreds of thousands of Euros. But these weren’t cryptocurrencies. In fact, the packages contained educational material on how to mine OneCoin once it was launched. Indeed, OneCoin hadn’t even had an ICO (Initial Coin Offering). What its promoters offered was the promise of a cryptocurrency that would overtake Bitcoin, and the possibility of making money by selling these packages to more people. Strike three.

FACE TO FACE

Far from making me back down, the red flags became fodder for the interview. Controversial characters often make for good stories.

We met at the St. Regis hotel in Mexico City, a place where the political and business class are regulars. The date was September 8, 2016. The team, composed of the photographer Braulio Tenorio, the cameraman Luis Fernando Aceves, and me, arrived at 3:00 p.m. After a brief wait in the lobby, at least a dozen men with varying Latin American accents appeared. Behind them came the public relations agent. The group was made up OneCoin’s main promoters in Latin America. Some introduced themselves and within a matter of seconds several of the men were pitching me the idea of becoming a “partner”, that is, they tried selling one of the cryptocurrency packages.

After declining the offer, two men dressed in fancy suits came to announce that we could go upstairs. The meeting took place on the 12th floor in the Astor suite, which is priced over $6,000 per night and has a gigantic bedroom, a dining room for six people, an extra room, and the best views of La Diana Cazadora, a famous sculpture in the heart of Mexico City.

Another man in a suit was waiting at the door. He stuck out in this elite corner of the financial world, his hands and neck covered in tattoos. He welcomed the El Financero-Bloomberg team and retinue of promoters present. His spoke English with a foreign accent. He didn’t give his name, but he fit the description of Bulgarian national Konstantin Ignatov, Ignatova’s brother. He led us to the room where we set up all the equipment. A few years later in 2019, Konstantin was apprehended by the FBI.

Our conversation started there. Ignatova, who had recently hosted an event at London's Wembley Stadium with hundreds of thousands of guests, answered every question imbued with the confidence of someone who calls themselves "cryptoqueen." We first talked about the future of cryptocurrency, its uses, regulations, and obstacles. She argued, among other things, that cryptocurrency could help create a more inclusive financial system. For example, she said the digital currency could be used to send remittances and lower commission costs for migrants around the world. Later, she detailed why OneCoin had not been launched yet. She nonchalantly rebutted the accusations that she and OneLife were part of a scam.

Donning a green dress worthy of an academic, makeup expertly applied, Ignatova played the part perfectly. She followed a script using catch phrases about the crypto ecosystem’s bright future. Her reasons for delaying OneCoin's launch sounded reasonable at least, and on the questioning of her credibility there wasn’t even an iota of nervousness. She surmised her work was almost heroic as she led a project so disruptive that it would revolutionize the entire cryptocurrency universe, and that scared people.

After 30 minutes on camera and a brief off-the-record chat, I left the luxurious suite with the team to go back to the newsroom. After reviewing the material, we decided it wasn’t suitable for publication. Our fact-checkers said it didn’t pass muster. Just as importantly, the whole interview process felt confusing and murky, it reeked of a scam.

A day later, Ignatova advertised the interview on social media, saying it would contain her vision for the future of cryptocurrencies and specifically OneCoin. But the publication of the interview never arrived. Over the course of several months the public relations agency sent repeated questions about the editorial reasoning behind not publishing the interview, saying OneCoin deserved an article in a reputed publication to cement the idea they were a credible project. Despite turning them down one time after another, they kept sending updated information even as the OneCoin’s fraud began to come to light.

THE DEBACLE

Ignatova, who according to The Wall Street Journal once worked at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., gained notoriety in the months that came as victims of the fraudulent scheme went public. Finally, Ignatova, who according to various media outlets has a bachelor’s degree from the prestigious University of Oxford and a doctorate in Private Law from Germany’s University of Constance, disappeared in 2017.

The story of how she disappeared was published earlier this year by BBC journalist Jamie Bartlett, who spent hundreds of hours fact-checking. According to the article, the fraud amounted to $4 billion and is considered one of the largest financial scams in history. The Ponzi scheme relied on the buzzwords cryptocurrency and blockchain.

In Mexico, the story took a dark turn. Two OneCoin promoters, a Chilean and Argentine, were found murdered in 2020 in Mazatlan, a well-known drug-trafficking hotspot on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Perhaps the wrong person got scammed.

As for Ignatova, the latest FBI report, cited by Bartlett, revealed she traveled to Athens. After that no trace of her could be found. What we do know is that she is no further than six degrees of separation, according to sociological theory.