Germany trials former husband of Ruja Ignatova for money laundering

Björn S., the former husband of missing ‘cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova, is facing trial in Germany on money laundering charges related to the OneCoin fraudulent pyramid scheme. The proceedings, held at the Darmstadt District Court, focus on whether the 50-year-old lawyer was aware of the criminal origins of significant funds.

Investigators are examining two major payments totaling approximately 16 million euros, which are suspected to have been transferred to the defendant’s accounts via a Hong Kong-based company. The case also involves the purchase of a luxury villa in Bad Homburg, Germany, valued at over 7 million euros, which authorities are investigating to determine if it was financed by OneCoin proceeds. A security mortgage has already been placed on the property.

OneCoin, launched in 2014, was marketed as a revolutionary digital currency to compete with Bitcoin but was later identified by U.S. authorities as a massive scam. Between 2014 and 2016, the scheme reportedly defrauded over 3.5 million victims globally of more than 4 billion euros. Ruja Ignatova has been missing since October 2017 and is currently on the FBI’s most wanted list.