The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that a former executive of the now-defunct OneCoin cryptocurrency was charged with fraud and money laundering and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. After being extradited from Bulgaria, Dilkinska now faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted on both counts.
The charges carry a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison. Dilkinska served as the head of legal and compliance for the organization prior to the charges being filed against her.
Origin of OneCoin
OneCoin is a cryptocurrency venture founded in 2014 by “crypto queen” Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. It has recently made headlines due to the legal troubles of its co-founders. In December, Greenwood pleaded guilty to various charges. Greenwood now faces a potential maximum sentence of up to 60 years in prison.
In October 2017, Ignatova managed to escape justice and slip away from law enforcement agencies. This happened just 15 days after a federal warrant was issued for her arrest. She was thought to have boarded a flight to Greece and has not been seen or heard from since. Thus leading many to speculate she may have gone into hiding there.
Following more reports, Dilkinska had been instrumental in laundering over $400 million in proceeds acquired by OneCoin. After hearing that a co-conspirator had been arrested, Dilkinska destroyed incriminating evidence and sent incriminating messages to cover his tracks.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams was sharply critical of Irina Dilkinska, the so-called Head of Legal and Compliance for the OneCoin cryptocurrency pyramid scheme, remarking on the ironic contrast between her job title and her actions. Something that had facilitated the laundering of millions of dollars worth of illegal proceeds through shell companies. Williams emphasized his point by stating:
“Irina Dilkinska, the supposed Head of Legal and Compliance for the OneCoin cryptocurrency pyramid scheme, accomplished the exact opposite of her job title and allegedly enabled OneCoin to launder millions of dollars of illegal proceeds through shell companies.”
Onecoin exposed to Ponzi Scheme
In 2015, the fraudulent crypto-currency OneCoin was exposed as a Ponzi scheme. However, it still managed to bring in an impressive $4.3 billion in revenue during its time of operation.
An analysis conducted revealed that OneCoin had earned an estimated $3 billion in profits during this period alone, demonstrating the scale of the financial losses suffered by unsuspecting victims.