In July 2022, Ruja Ignatova, the self-proclaimed "Cryptoqueen" behind a pyramid scheme called OneCoin, made the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted list. Belgian-born Ignatova disappeared in 2017 after being accused of defrauding investors out of billions; the FBI believes she moved with "armed guards" and "may have undergone plastic surgery."

Believe it or not, plastic surgery may be the least sensational aspect of this story; OneCoin emerged in 2014 and was essentially a multi-level marketing scam with crypto at its core. The exchange was shut down in 2017, and after Ignatova's disappearance, she was subsequently indicted on eight counts, including wire fraud and securities fraud in 2019; the FBI added her to its most wanted list in 2022 with a $100,000 reward, which was later increased to $250,000. The FBI is currently increasing that reward substantially.

The reward for information leading to Ruja Ignatova's arrest now stands at $5 million. This follows the BBC World News documentary, The Case of the Missing Cryptoqueen: The documentary reveals Ignatova's connection to a Bulgarian criminal network that may have had something to do with her disappearance. It investigated mafia bosses and raised the possibility that Ignatova may have been murdered.

Despite this, the FBI's pursuit of Ignatova continues, but a 20-fold increase in the reward seems a bit of a Hail Mary. [Matthew Miller of the U.S. State Department said, "We are offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of German national Ruja Ignatova, known as the 'Crypto Queen,' for her role in the largest global fraud scheme in history. ."

Jamie Bartlett is a journalist on the BBC's podcast series "The Missing Cryptoqueen," which unravels Ignatova's story in a fascinating way.

"I always felt that the initial reward ($100,000, later increased) was a carefully chosen number," Bartlett wrote in his substack.

"If Ruja is on the run, he may come into contact with a variety of people, including airport employees, port officials, chefs working on private yachts, store clerks, etc. $100,000 is unlikely that any serious criminal would be willing to hand Ruja over, but for the various service industry workers who might cross paths with Ruja, it might be enough."

"That doesn't seem to be bearing fruit. In the last episode of The Missing Crypto Queen, we looked at her connections to organized crime groups, and many believe that if Dr. Ruja is still hiding, it is probably under their protection... For $100,000, it would take a young member of a crime syndicate or his personal bodyguard to call the FBI's hotline. But $5 million might.

"So to me, the increased reward is a sign that the FBI is now trying to re-empower those around Dr. Ruja and tempt them to contact her inner circle. We will probably know in a few weeks whether that has worked or not."

OneCoin is one of those schemes where one gets commissions by getting other people to become "investors" and convincing them to do the same for their family and friends, in other words, a very simple pyramid scheme. Ignatova was a key player in OneCoin's growth, multilingual, well-educated, flamboyantly dressed, and capable of securing huge investments.

Ignatova is currently the only woman on the FBI's most wanted list; others for whom the FBI is offering a $5 million reward include Daniel Kinahan, who is believed to be part of one of Europe's largest drug cartels; Russian crime boss Semion Mogilevich, and Yulan Adonei Archaga Karias (aka "Porky") of the Honduran crime syndicate MS-13.