Ex-head of OneCoin compliance pleads guilty

The former head of the legal and compliance department of the OneCoin cryptocurrency pyramid, Irina Dilkinska, pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering.

“Head of Legal and Compliance” for multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency pyramid scheme “OneCoin” pleads guiltyhttps://t.co/E656236UXh

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) November 9, 2023

She faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison on two counts. Authorities say the woman played a key role in laundering money for OneCoin. In particular, she helped transfer illicit proceeds totaling $110 million to the organization’s Cayman Islands entity.

«Dilkinska helped launder millions of dollars of illicit profits that OneCoin earned through its multi-level marketing scheme», — according to the DOJ statement.

In March, the 42-year-old Bulgarian national was extradited to the United States, where, on aggregate charges, she faced up to 40 years in prison.

The OneCoin financial pyramid was founded in 2014 by Ruja Ignatova together with Sebastian Greenwood. The project was initially pitched as a high-yield cryptocurrency, with investors earning profits not only from the asset’s appreciation but also from recruiting new participants.

Ignatova’s whereabouts have been unknown since 2017. In spring 2022, Europol included the OneCoin co-conspirator on the list of the world’s most wanted criminals (as of writing, her entry was not listed there). Later she appeared on a similar FBI list.

According to the media, Ignatova was killed in November 2018 on a yacht in the Ionian Sea. There is no confirmation of this information to date.

In December 2022, co-founder and chief promoter of the pyramid Sebastian Greenwood pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering. In mid-September, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Earlier in autumn 2023, attorney Mark Scott, convicted for involvement in OneCoin, was denied a retrial denied a retrial.