Little is known about the reasons that caused a woman so intelligent, and so capable of developing so much empathy, could use these attributes to harm millions of people.
Since it first aired in September 2019, the BBC podcast The Missing CryptoQueen has been on the trail of Ruja Ignatova, better known as the ‘crypto queen’, the woman behind a pyramid scheme known as OneCoin. She promised thousands of people a lot of financial benefits in exchange for them to invest in what she called a revolutionary cryptocurrency, but two years ago, Ruja disappeared without a trace.
The saga of the podcast The Missing CryptoQueen is the product of the investigation of journalist Jaime Bartlett and producer Georgia Cast. In the nine chapters that have been released until now, the documentary delves into the life of Ruja Ignatova and her fake cryptocurrency OneCoin.
Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin and was later able to part with it for the benefit of humans. He proved that technology with a good purpose is bigger than a person. But, it is also true that since the pioneer of cryptocurrencies emerged, there are people in the world who seek only personal benefits.
Little is known about the reasons that caused a woman so intelligent and so capable of developing so much empathy, could use these attributes to harm millions of people. But what the BBC podcast does tell you is that, when Ruja Ignatova appeared with her OneCoin proposal, there were (still are) the right elements in our society that open the door to scams.
In his story, Jamie Bartlet explains that technology creates incredible opportunities and possibilities for people who manage to understand the use of some developments, but it also offers the opportunity to exploit people who do not know it. So, when technology collides with certain human weaknesses, and when the old rules no longer work and innovation appears, then there will always be a Dr. Ruja Ignatova closer than anyone can imagine.
OneCoin is Still Alive
One of the most amazing facts about the Missing CryptoQueen is that even though the FBI seeks Ruja Ignatova for scam and arrested her brother Konstantine, the organization that supports the operation of OneCoin, continues to operate. People continue to buy “educational packages” and thousands of them keep their hopes alive that it will soon open the exchange house where they can exchange what they believe is a cryptocurrency.
In episode 3, the podcast team was able to verify that OneCoin offices are operational in a building in Sofia, Bulgaria, where people work. The staff is completely responsible for the keeping and maintenance of the accounts of the people who pay for the investment packages. They keep the website that reports on the price of the supposed cryptocurrency active.
They are also in constant communication with the independent associations that run OneCoin promotions around the world. People buy supposed OneCoin educational packages starting at 250,000 euros ($ 296,000) that include various supposedly mined cryptocurrencies. The product includes 7 PDF files that according to journalist Bartlett contain large plagiarized fragments of significant documents from the world of finance.
OneCoin promised that people’s lives would change from the moment they bought the largest packages. The Tycoon product could cost 5,000 euros ($ 5,936). Family and friends made collections, pooled their savings, sold some properties with the idea of investing. “But people did not realize that with these coins it’s simply impossible to buy anything at all,” says Barttlet in episode 1 of the podcast.
By Jenson Nuñez
