Ruzha Ignatova, wanted for the OneCoin crypto scam, has been given a global asset freeze, following a class action by defrauded investors, the BBC reported.
Ignatova, known as the "disappeared crypto queen", is already subject to a global freezing order that prevents her assets from being sold or moved.
The crypto queen has not been seen since she got off a Ryanair flight in Athens more than 6 years ago.
In June, the BBC revealed her links to the Bulgarian underworld and to a man believed to be an organized crime boss involved in her disappearance.
Attempts by OneCoin investors to obtain substantial compensation for their losses have so far failed, as has the search for Ignatova. US authorities are currently offering a $5 million reward for information leading to her arrest.
The freezing order, announced on August 7 at the High Court in London, is part of a class action brought by over 400 OneCoin investors.
The group of complainants is led by Jennifer McAdam, who claims she and her friends and family lost more than £200,000 in the OneCoin scam.
"I have seen first-hand how this scam has affected so many people's lives. The victims' stories are absolutely heartbreaking and the financial ruin they have found themselves in is unbearable," she said.
McAdam first shared her story in 2019 on the BBC's Missing Cryptoqueen podcast. Like other Ugandan and US interviewees, she convinced her closest friends and family to invest before realizing it was a scam.
According to the BBC, in the UK alone, OneCoin investors have lost over £100m.
The OneCoin investors in the class action are represented by law firm Mishcon de Reya.
"The lawsuit remains open at this time, so plaintiffs can still join," said Rimal Persad, a partner at the firm.
"Only those investors who join the suit will be able to receive all the recovered damages," he added.
The freezing order targets not only Ruzha Ignatova, but also 7 other individuals and 4 companies - all of which are alleged to have been connected to OneCoin in some form.
Among them is OneCoin co-founder Sebastian Greenwood, who is in a US prison serving a 20-year sentence for his role in the scam.
British businessmen Christopher Hamilton and Robert Macdonald, who appeared in court in London, are also subject to freezing.
The pair have been accused by US authorities of laundering the proceeds of OneCoin, but attempts to have them extradited to the US to face trial have failed.
Also subject to freezing are 2 companies from the island of Guernsey, which in 2021 were used by Ignatova to buy a penthouse in Kensington worth £13.5 million and an apartment in the same building worth £1.9 million. to be used by her bodyguards.
OneCoin promoters are also subject to freezing. Although - like investors - they may have suffered losses when OneCoin crashed and the "crypto queen" fled. They are said to have earned significant sums by recruiting more investors. | BGNES
