Guernsey court seizes £8.5 million of Cryptoqueen’s assets under German confiscation order

Guernsey’s Royal Court has seized more than £8.5 million from a shell company bank account associated with the infamous missing ‘Cryptoqueen’ Dr Ruja Ignatova.

The 45-year-old founded the digital currency OneCoin, but is believed to have used it as cover to help defraud victims out of more than $4 billion globally – making her one of the world’s most prolific alleged scammers.

Dr Ignatova is on the FBI’s most wanted list, with a reward of up to $5 million offered for information leading to her arrest and conviction.

Now, some of her assets have been seized by Guernsey authorities after it emerged that two London properties she owned, including a penthouse, were sold through shell companies – with the proceeds landing in a local bank account.

The Cryptoqueen has not been seen in public for years and did not challenge the judgment.

An FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive notice for Dr Ruja Ignatova, with pictures of her with long brown hair and red lipstick.
The FBI believes that Dr Ruja Ignatova travels with armed guards and may have had plastic surgery to alter her appearance.
Credit: FBI
The full amount, £8,590,200.92 plus interest, will be released by the Royal Bank of Scotland and held in the Seized Asset Fund.

It is then expected to be claimed by German authorities under an overseas forfeiture order.

Speaking in November ahead of the ruling, senior German Public Prosecutor Carsten Nowak told ITV News that the money will be used to repay some of the Cryptoqueen’s alleged victims in his country, whose deposits he says were fraudulently used to buy the properties in the first place.

Article Credit: https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2026-01-16/guernsey-court-seizes-85-million-of-cryptoqueens-assets