OneCoin's Legal and Compliance Head Charged with Money Laundering
The Southern District of New York Attorney's Office, led by Damian Williams, is targeting another crucial player in the notorious OneCoin crypto pyramid scheme – Irina Dilkinska. According to charges, Dilkinska assisted Ignatova and Greenwood in laundering money.
In 2014, Irina Dilkinska, a Bulgarian citizen, became a member of the massive financial pyramid scheme known as OneCoin. Over the course of two years, the project, which presented itself as a global multi-level marketing (MLM) network, raked in more than €4.037 billion from three million victims. The company's net "profit" during that time amounted to an astonishing €2.735 billion.
Source: Twitter
The prosecution believes that Dilkinska joined OneCoin as the head of the legal and compliance department. However, instead of ensuring the company's compliance with the law, she helped the co-founders create dummy companies and manage them. These were necessary for the implementation of the fraudulent scheme, money laundering, and control of the assets that actually belonged to Ignatova.
Between 2016 and 2017, Dilkinska laundered about $400 million with her co-conspirator Mark Scott, who managed fake investment funds in the Cayman Islands. She also used the B&N Consult EEOD company to launder funds. The firm provided patented consulting services, support, and software solutions and "earned" €200 million in 2015-2016.
Charges were brought against Ruja Ignatova on October 12, 2017. An arrest warrant was issued, but after October 25, 2017, she no longer appeared in public. Ignatova is currently one of the top ten FBI's most wanted criminals. The Bureau offers a $100,000 reward to anyone with information leading to her arrest.
Source: fbi.gov
In 2018, Karl Greenwood was arrested in Thailand and extradited to the United States where he has been in custody. In December 2022, he pleaded guilty to three counts of the indictment, each carrying a potential 20-year prison sentence.
In the fall of 2018, Dilkinska learned of Scott's arrest for money laundering in connection with OneCoin and burned all the documents that could have linked her to the fraud. She then informed Konstantin Ignatov, the brother and accomplice of Ruja Ignatova, demanding "mega lawyers" from him.
The investigation into Dilkinska's case involved representatives from the IRS-CI, the FBI, and special agents from the US Attorney's Office, the Federal Marshals Service, the International Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice, and Bulgarian authorities. She has been charged with fraud and money laundering, each carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence. On March 20, the defendant was extradited from Bulgaria to the United States.
The charges against Irina Dilkinska are the outcome of the exceptional investigative work of our federal and international law enforcement partners. Those who commit fraud are put on notice today that IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to holding them accountable no matter where they are locatedsaid IRS-CI Executive Special Agent Thomas Fattorusso.
