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Konstantin Ignatov was released from prison despite being found guilty of fraud and money laundering, after 34 months of imprisonment.
Konstantin Ignatov, the brother of Ruja Ignatov, the ‘Cryptoqueen’ has been released from prison after completing his 34 months of imprisonment. He was imprisoned for a $4.4 Billion fraud scheme discovered under his role at OneCoin.
On March 5, District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos handed over a time-served verdict to
Konstantin Ignatov was once the defacto leader of OneCoin. Time-served refers to a verdict when the court deems that the defendant has spent the required time in jail while awaiting another sentencing hearing.
The suspected Ignatov took full responsibility for the claims against him at the latest hearing on March 5 by Law360.
His words were as follows,
“I can only blame myself […] still have trouble looking into my own eyes in the mirror. The last five years were a very painful period in my life, but I’m glad for the lessons I’ve learned.”
Is He Completely Free?
The court has further ordered Iganatov to spend the next two years under the court’s supervision and he was also ordered to hand over $118,000 he earned while working at OneCoin.
Judge Ramos described OneCoin as one of the biggest frauds with thousands of victims. However, the court is convinced that Iganatov’s cooperation with the prosecutors led to the recommendation of a sentence of time-served.
Case Background
Konstantin Ignatov was first arrested in 2019 and was found guilty of money laundering and fraud charges in the later part of the year.
His time-served verdict came after his observed cooperation with United States prosecutors, which saw him testify against former lawyer Mark Scott, who was convicted of laundering $400 Million from the OneCoin scheme. On January 25, Scott was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
Judge Ramos credited Ignatov for cooperating with prosecutors in Scott’s trial.
Prosecutors claimed that Konstantin became the leader of the OneCoin scam after his sister, Ruja Ignatov went missing in 2017. Her whereabouts remain unknown to date and she is currently on the Ten Most Wanted list released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ruja Ignatov was charged in absentia for wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering by U.S. authorities.
Other Personalities Involved in the Case
One of the promoters of OneCoin, Karl Sebastian Greenwood, also received a prison sentence of 20 years on the charge of fraud and money laundering.
OneCoin was a fraudulent cryptocurrency based in Bulgaria that was marketed and sold to Millions of victims around the world. As part of its activities, it raised $4.4 Billion in five years, starting in 2014 and ending in 2018, before it was suspected of fraud and money laundering.
OneCoin essentially pulled off a Ponzi scheme that promised investors overexaggerated profits, offered guaranteed returns, and marketed itself as a “Bitcoin killer” to lure in its victims.
Amanda Shinoy is one of the few women in the space invested knee-deep in crypto. An advocate for increasing the presence of women in crypto, she is known for her accurate technical analysis and price prediction of cryptocurrencies. Readers are often waiting for her opinion about the next rally. She is a finance expert with an MBA in finance. Quitting a corporate job at a leading financial institution, she now engages herself full-time into financial education for the general public.
