The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a new compensation pathway for victims of the infamous OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme, opening a remission claims process that could return a portion of recovered funds to investors who lost money in one of the largest financial frauds in crypto history.
According to an announcement released Monday, more than $40 million in forfeited assets tied to criminal cases connected to OneCoin are now available for distribution.
The funds will be allocated through the department’s remission process, which allows victims of certain crimes to apply for compensation using assets seized during prosecutions.
Reparation still a small amount of money
While the amount marks a significant step toward restitution, it represents only a fraction of the estimated $4 billion that OneCoin collected from victims worldwide between 2014 and 2019.
Eligible individuals who purchased the OneCoin cryptocurrency during the period can now submit claims through a program administered by claims management firm Kroll.
Petition forms are available online, and the Justice Department has set a filing deadline of June 30 for submissions. Officials emphasized that applicants must provide documentation showing their investment in the scheme and the losses incurred.
The funds being distributed stem from criminal forfeiture actions carried out in federal prosecutions in the Southern District of New York, one of the key jurisdictions handling the long-running case.
Authorities described the remission process as part of broader efforts to recover assets and deliver some measure of financial relief to victims, many of whom have waited years for any form of compensation.
OneCoin’s ‘Cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova remains among world’s most wanted fugitives
The latest development comes as OneCoin’s most recognizable figure, co-founder Ruja Ignatova, remains one of the world’s most wanted fugitives. Often referred to as the “Cryptoqueen,” Ignatova disappeared in 2017 shortly before U.S. authorities unsealed charges against her.
Ignatova was included in the list of Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives in June 2022, indicating the magnitude and international implications of the case. FBI is offering a cash prize of up to $250,000 for any information regarding the location of Ignatova which may lead to her arrest, whereas U.S. Department of State has also announced another cash reward of up to $5 million.
While Ignatova remains at large, law enforcement agencies have succeeded in obtaining convictions for some of Ignatova’s accomplices in different jurisdictions around the world.
Karl Sebastian Greenwood, a founding member of OneCoin, pleaded guilty in December 2022 to charges of fraud by wire and money laundering in the U.S. He was then sentenced to serve 20 years in jail and fined $300 million, which is one of the most severe punishments that have been handed out in any crypto-related crime. The prosecutors argued that Greenwood had a leading role in marketing this scam.
Another key figure, former head of legal and compliance Irina Dilkinska, was sentenced in April 2024 to four years in prison and ordered to forfeit $111.44 million.
Dilkinska had pleaded guilty months earlier to charges related to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies. Authorities said she helped move and conceal funds connected to the operation even after the scheme began to attract regulatory scrutiny.
International investigations have also targeted financial facilitators linked to OneCoin. In Germany, prosecutors charged a Munich-based lawyer accused of transferring approximately 20 million euros on Ignatova’s behalf to the Cayman Islands to help finance the purchase of luxury real estate in London.
Authorities alleged that the lawyer, along with a married couple who managed hundreds of millions of euros in customer payments, participated in a network designed to disguise the origin of illicit funds.
More recently, prosecutors in the United States charged William Morro with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.Investigators claim that Morro aided in concealing the origin of the funds related to the scam by giving misleading information to banks.
As stated in the indictment, he assisted in moving almost $35 million linked to OneCoin into a bank account in Hong Kong, as well as around $6 million into a bank account in the United States. Morro was arrested on April 23, 2024, which is yet another significant development in the struggle against the criminal organization behind the fraud.
OneCoin’s story has become one of the most prominent cases of cryptocurrency fraud, which serves as a cautionary tale for those who consider investing in such schemes.
In contrast to other cryptocurrencies which were legitimate, researchers found out that OneCoin had no working blockchain and was supported through aggressive marketing and recruiting efforts.
For the victims of OneCoin fraud, the newly introduced remission is an invaluable chance to retrieve their money lost during long years of lawsuits.
Nevertheless, the representatives of authorities warn the claimants that there is not enough money compared to the size of fraud committed.
Still, one can assume that the introduction of this measure by the Justice Department indicates an increase in effectiveness of actions aimed at recovery of money in cryptocurrency fraud cases.
Further remissions might be conducted once new assets will be seized by investigators.