I recently came across a story that truly impresses with the scale of the fraud. Do you know about OneCoin? It was one of the largest crypto pyramids in history, and behind it was the Bulgarian-German scammer Ruja Ignatova.

The woman was born in 1980 in Ruse, moved to Germany as a child, and earned a degree in international law. On paper, she looked like a successful specialist, and even allegedly worked at McKinsey. But in 2014, she decided to launch her crypto project and pass it off as a competitor to Bitcoin. That’s where the trouble began.

Ignatova attracted investors from more than a hundred countries, promising them astronomical returns. She claimed that OneCoin was supported by blockchain technology, but that was a complete lie. The scheme raised about $4 billion, although some experts say losses could be as high as £12.9 billion. In 2016, Ruja Ignatova even publicly stated that in two years, nobody would be talking about Bitcoin. The audacity, of course.

In October 2017, she simply vanished. She was in Sofia, supposedly flying to Athens, and that was it. No one has seen her since. Ignatova’s brother later confessed to crimes and received a prison sentence, while she became the target of the FBI and Europol. A $5 million reward was put on her head, although Europol proposed some symbolic prize of £4,100, which prompted mockery.

Her escape tactics look professional. Most likely, she uses forged documents, and maybe even had plastic surgery. Some believe she is in Russia or Greece, under protection. There’s even a version that she was killed by the Bulgarian mafia, though that’s just speculation. The fact is that there are almost no physical clues—only her last appearance at Athens airport.

What’s the strangest part? OneCoin continues to operate in some countries in Africa and Latin America. People are still losing money through this scheme, even after all the exposures. Ruja Ignatova’s story has already inspired series and podcasts, including a BBC documentary project. It’s a real example of how academic intelligence can be used for a major financial crime.

Her story is a good lesson on why you need to be more careful with unregistered investment projects. Even if they look good on paper.