German authorities have seized approximately €10.1 million ($11.4 million) in assets linked to Ruja Ignatova, the missing founder of the notorious OneCoin cryptocurrency fraud.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Bielefeld announced that it had successfully secured the funds, which came from the sale of two properties in London connected to Ignatova. The money is expected to be used to compensate victims who lost funds through OneCoin.
The properties included a luxury penthouse and neighboring apartment in London's Kensington district, previously valued at between £12.5 million and £13.5 million.
Although formally held through corporate structures, investigators believe the properties ultimately belonged to Ignatova and were purchased using proceeds generated through the OneCoin operation.
London Properties Were Put Up for Sale
The two apartments were placed on the market in early 2023 following action by German prosecutors.
Investigators had traced ownership through shell companies used to hold the properties, eventually identifying Ignatova as their beneficial owner.
The latest seizure adds to other efforts by European authorities to recover assets allegedly connected to the missing OneCoin founder.
Earlier in 2026, a court in Guernsey ordered the confiscation of another £8.59 million held in a bank account linked to Ignatova. Those funds were also expected to be transferred to Germany and ultimately used to compensate victims.
Recovering assets has become a major part of the international investigation into OneCoin, which authorities have described as a multibillion-dollar fraudulent investment scheme.
OneCoin Attracted Millions of Investors
OneCoin launched in 2014, presenting itself as a cryptocurrency capable of competing with Bitcoin.
The company built a global multi-level marketing network in which participants purchased educational packages and received tokens that supposedly allowed them to obtain OneCoin.
However, prosecutors later determined that OneCoin did not operate like a genuine decentralized cryptocurrency. Authorities alleged that its supposed blockchain and market value were manipulated while investors were encouraged to recruit additional participants.
The company promoted OneCoin aggressively around the world, at times describing the asset as a potential “Bitcoin killer.”
More than three million people reportedly participated in the scheme, according to figures previously published by OneCoin itself. U.S. prosecutors have estimated that victims invested more than $4 billion globally.
Ignatova became the public face of the project, appearing at major promotional events and presenting OneCoin as the next generation of digital money.
Cryptoqueen Has Been Missing Since 2017
Ignatova disappeared in October 2017, shortly after U.S. authorities issued a warrant for her arrest.
She was last publicly traced traveling from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, on October 25, 2017. Her location since then remains unknown.
The German citizen, who was born in Bulgaria, is currently wanted internationally. The FBI continues to list her among its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and offers a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to her arrest or conviction.
Numerous theories have emerged about what happened after her disappearance, but authorities have not publicly established whether Ignatova is alive or where she may currently be located.
The international search therefore remains active.
Other OneCoin Executives Were Convicted
While Ignatova remains missing, several other figures connected with OneCoin have faced prosecution.
Co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood was arrested in Thailand in 2018 and extradited to the United States. He later pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges and was sentenced in 2023 to 20 years in prison.
Ignatova's brother Konstantin Ignatov, who assumed a prominent role in OneCoin after her disappearance, was arrested in the United States in 2019 and later pleaded guilty to charges connected with the operation.
German authorities have also continued pursuing Ignatova directly.
In September 2025, prosecutors in Bielefeld filed charges against her, including allegations related to operating a pyramid scheme. According to German reporting, the move was partly intended to prevent relevant alleged offenses from becoming time-barred, with the limitation period expected to become an issue in 2031.
The investigation has particular significance for Germany because companies involved in the OneCoin operation were based in Greven, while the organization also maintained major operations in Sofia.
Nearly nine years after Ignatova disappeared, authorities have still not located the Cryptoqueen. However, the latest €10.1 million seizure demonstrates that investigators are continuing to trace and recover assets allegedly connected to OneCoin, even while the search for its missing founder continues.
