A lawyer representing investors defrauded by the notorious cryptocurrency scam Onecoin urged the Bulgarian authorities to take action on the case, claiming that the “world’s largest pyramid scheme” is still operating in the country. In a petition submitted to the Bulgarian Constitutional Ombudsman, Jonathan Levy accused Sofia’s officials of failing to bring justice to the victims while appearing to protect “the most notorious criminal organization.”

Lawyers attacked the Bulgarian authorities for “malfeasance” in the OneCoin case

inside petitionDr. Levy pointed out that OneCoin has been identified as a criminal enterprise by the United States, Argentina, Germany and other countries, and has been listed as a pyramid scheme by law enforcement agencies such as the FBI.At the same time, a cryptocurrency scam allegedly worth 20 billion euros has multiple offices in the Bulgarian capital, uses multiple corporate identities, continues its business unabated, and even holds Recruitment activities This past summer.

The encrypted Ponzi scheme Onecoin was launched in 2014 and promoted through Onecoin Ltd, a Bulgarian offshore entity registered in Dubai, and Onelife Network Ltd, a Belize registered entity. Both were created by the mastermind of the pyramids, Bulgarian-born”Encryption queen‘Dr. Ruja Ignatova is also a German national and holds a PhD in European Private Law. Her partner is from Sebastian Greenwood in Sweden.

Ignatova disappeared in 2017, while her brother Konstantin Ignatov, another Onecoin co-founder, was arrested in Los Angeles in 2019 and charged with financial crimes. Since then, he began to work with law enforcement agencies to testify about Onecoin’s organized criminal activities in Bulgaria and elsewhere, plead guilty and seek witness protection. The plan is also related to the financing of terrorism. Many people involved in investigations and legal proceedings, including Ignatov, complained about receiving legal and other threats.

The document submitted by Jonathan Levy lists some other key figures in the scam and claims that “Ignatovs, Onecoin and their agents in Bulgaria and Dubai currently control more than 12.5 billion euros of movable and immovable property, investments, cryptocurrencies, banks Accounts and cash.” (14.2 billion U.S. dollars).

The lawyer slammed the Bulgarian authorities’ limited actions in the case, recalling the single general warning about Onecoin issued by the Financial Supervisory Commission in 2015, which the commission later ignored, and the police Raid In 2018, at its office in Sofia, it was ordered by Ivan Geshev, the current Bulgarian Attorney General, at the request of Europol and the German police. Levy also pointed out:

We are not aware of any arrests or seizures of bank accounts, cash, cryptocurrency or property belonging to the victims. If the Bulgarian law enforcement agency confiscated the assets, it would not provide the victims with public accounting or compensation procedures.

According to the legal representative, OneCoin is the largest MLM in the history of the world, surpassing Madoff with Mavrodi pyramid. However, the complaint filed mainly concerns Onecoin’s operations in Bulgaria, the full scope of which is still unknown, and “in response to the improper conduct of Bulgarian law enforcement agencies in respect of the EU’s obligations to crime victims.”

In a petition filed on behalf of clients from multiple countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Australia, Jonathan Levy emphasized that in accordance with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and similar provisions of Bulgarian law, Onecoin victims should have not obtained justice from Bulgaria. Rescue. He accused the country of being a member of the European Union, saying that it “seems to protect and enable OneCoin to retain its assets and continue to operate, even though it is the most notorious criminal organization in the 21st century.”

The petitioner urges Bulgaria to be held accountable for crypto-frauded assets, including Ignatova’s 12 billion Euro Bitcoin hiding

Levy asked the Bulgarian Ombudsman to investigate the actions of various government agencies, such as the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Interior, and the country’s Financial Intelligence Agency. He also insisted on taking measures to terminate “Onecoin’s public and public operations in Bulgaria, which continue to victimize global investors.”

The lawyer also asked the Bulgarian authorities to assist in explaining the Onecoin assets controlled in Bulgaria. According to the document, these assets allegedly included 230,000 Bitcoin, Cash, yachts, luxury cars, jewellery and precious metals, bank accounts, investments and real estate to determine whether they are still owned by Ignatova and its associates or have been seized by Bulgaria.

Jonathan Levy also insisted that the Sofia government fulfill its compensation Victims of Onecoin under European law, such as Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and Directive 2004/80/EC of the Council of the European Union of April 29, 2004.

The petitioner also called for “the establishment of a monetary reward of up to 1 billion euros” to encourage Onecoin employees to come forward and provide information about crypto investment scams and their activities, “especially with regard to the possession of 230,000 Bitcoin Ruja Ignatova or its The agent is currently worth more than 12 billion euros.” Dr. Levy suggested that the funds used for this purpose should come from 10% of the recovered Onecoin assets.

Reports in Bulgarian media confirmed that the country’s Onecoin company is still operating. According to an article in the Business Daily Capital, the One Network Services entity (previously owned by the mother of Konstantin Ignatov and Ruja, who runs Onecoin’s main office in the center of Sofia) is actually expanding its workforce-from 17 employees at the end of last year Start, now to 24.The publication show The company has announced revenue of more than 2.9 million lev (more than 1.7 million U.S. dollars) in 2020 and a net profit of 75,000 lev (more than 43,000 U.S. dollars).

The cryptocurrency center that was once open on the ground floor of a building in Slaveykov Square is now closed, but according to Capital, Onecoin leaders have been posting photos of meetings held there during their visit to Sofia. The active promoters of the cryptocurrency investment program, which has been renamed Oneecosystem, are new faces, and few of them are Bulgarians.

After the victims of the Bulgarian Ombudsman petition, do you want the Sofia authorities to take action against Onecoin? Tell us in the comments section below.

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