8 People Arrested in Argentina Linked to Onecoin Ponzi Scam

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Argentine city of Córdoba has indicted 12 people in connection with the Onecoin Ponzi scheme. Eight of them have been arrested.

Onecoin Scammers Arrested

The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Complex Crimes of the Argentine city of Córdoba ordered the arrest of 12 people linked to the Onecoin Ponzi scam on Thursday, several local news outlets reported. The Bulgaria-based scheme has been described as one of the biggest scams in crypto history, having netted about $4 billion from operations.

The Complex Crime Investigation Unit of the local police carried out multiple raids before arresting the accused as well as to collect evidence of the crime.

Among the eight people arrested was Edgar Moreno, a well-known radio host and journalist from Córdoba who started businesses related to Onecoin and real estate operations in Panama some time ago, according to local media. The other were Gustavo Adolfo Amuchástegui, Andrés Matías López, Mariana Noel López, Manuel Vicente Peralta Guevara, Mónica Gabriela Blasco, Daniel Cornaglia, and Ricardo Beretta. Also indicted was Onecoin founder Ruja Ignatova, aka the Cryptoqueen, who is still at large.

The Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the Onecoin Ponzi scheme after receiving a complaint by a victim who said he gave about $70,000 to Onecoin’s promoters. They contacted him in 2018 to convince him to invest in Onecoin, insisting that its value would multiply in January 2019. After several meetings and multiple promises, the victim invested more than $70,000 to acquire the cryptocurrency that has never existed.

A number of Onecoin promoters have been arrested in several countries, including Italy and Singapore. In early July, two Onecoin operators were found dead in Mexico. Konstantin Ignatova, Ruja’s brother, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in March last year. He pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in October.

Despite multiple arrests, Onecoin promoters are reportedly still promoting the Ponzi scheme and scamming investors worldwide. A movie is being made about the Onecoin Ponzi scheme starring Kate Winslet, based on a true story of another Onecoin victim.