Cryptoqueen Ruja Ignatova, the mastermind behind the OneCoin Ponzi, may be hiding in South Africa, according to recent German investigations.

Ignatova, an Oxford-educated Bulgarian, vanished in October 2017 after defrauding millions through a fake cryptocurrency scheme, sparking numerous theories about her whereabouts, including claims that she may have been killed. 

However, German detectives now suggest she has been residing in an upscale neighborhood near Cape Town, known for attracting foreign criminals and offering high-security estates.

According to a report from The Times, Sabine Dässel, a representative of Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state office of criminal investigation (LKA), confirmed in a WDR documentary ‘Die Kryptoqueen‘ that authorities are continuing investigations under the assumption Ruja Ignatova is alive.

While investigators were not certain about the crypto queen’s whereabouts, Dässel said all evidence leads to Cape Town, where she has reportedly been sighted.

Investigators noted Ignatova’s brother, Konstantin, visited Cape Town multiple times after her disappearance, leading to speculation that he was receiving instructions from his sister.

Konstantin, who took over OneCoin operations after Ignatova fled, later cooperated with the FBI and served three years in a U.S. prison. He claimed Ignatova absconded with £500 million, funding her escape and securing fake identities.

The documentary also explored links between Ignatova and Bulgarian organized crime figures, including Hristoforos Nikos Amanatidis, also known as Taki. Amanatidis, who has not been convicted of any crimes, is alleged to have used OneCoin to launder proceeds from his criminal activities.

Taki was believed to have ordered Ignatova’s murder in 2018 in Greece, but the documentary dismissed this claim, citing information from the LKA that the alleged hitman was in prison at the time of the incident. Other investigations have also failed to verify this claim.

Another claim supporting the possibility that the infamous scammer is alive comes from Duncan Arthur, a key insider in Ignatova’s operation, who revealed to documentary makers that Konstantin continued to speak regularly with his sister after her disappearance in 2017.

German authorities aren’t the only ones who believe Ignatova is alive. The FBI continues to list her among its top ten most wanted fugitives and recently raised the reward for information leading to her arrest from $100,000 to $5 million. The agency also suspects she may have undergone plastic surgery to alter her appearance.

The $4 billion scam

Between 2014 and 2017, Ignatova and her accomplices defrauded investors of roughly $4.3 billion by promising high returns through OneCoin, a non-existent cryptocurrency not built on any blockchain.

While Ignatova went missing, several of her accomplices have been arrested and sentenced over the years. For instance, the scheme’s co-founder, Karl Greenwood, is serving a 20-year jail term for fraud, while the operation’s legal head, Irina Dilkinska, was sentenced for fraud and money laundering.

Meanwhile, Mark Scott, another lawyer involved with OneCoin, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after a crucial testimony from Konstantin Ignatov, which led to a shorter prison sentence for the latter.

Ignatova currently faces charges of wire and securities fraud in the U.S., Germany, Bulgaria, and India.