FBI adds ‘Cryptoqueen’ to ‘Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List’ for fraud

WASHINGTON — The FBI on Thursday added Dr. Ruja Ignatova, the self-proclaimed ‘Cryptoqueen,’ to its list of Ten Most Wanted fugitives, and is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to her arrest.

Ignatova, the founder of a cryptocurrency called OneCoin that was launched in 2014, allegedly defrauded investors of more than $4 billion over three years, before disappearing. Europol added her to Europe’s most wanted list last month.

Investigators say the Bulgarian-based project had no blockchain securing transactions and coins were essentially minted out of thin air. Bitcoin, by contrast, is secured by a global network of miners who maintain a public ledger, or blockchain.

The…