Cryptoqueen: How dis woman scam di world, come disappear

Ruja Ignatova call hersef di di Cryptoqueen. She tell pipo say she bin invent cryptocurrency wey pass Bitcoin and convince pipo to follow her buy in billions. Den two years ago she disappear. Jamie Bartlett spend months dey investigate how she take disappear for di Missing Cryptoqueen podcast wey im do and im try find out wia she dey hide.

For early June 2016 one 36 years old businesswoman wey dem dey call Dr. Raju Ignatova climb stage for Wembley arena in front of thousands of fans wey love her. She bin wear her usual expensive ball gown, wear diamond earrings and bright red lipstick.

She tell di crowd say OneCoin, go soon become di world's biggest cryptocurrency "for everibodi to take make payment everiwia."

Bitcoin na di first cryptocurrency and e still be di biggest and best. E value rise from some few cents to hundreds of dollar per coin by middle of 2016 and dis make pipo wey invest in am happy like say dem wan craze.

Di idea of cryptocurrency just dey begin turn di new koko. Many pipo bin dey look to join dis new strange opportunity.

OneCoin, Dr. Raju tell pipo for Wembley arena, na di "Bitcoin Killer." "In two years, nobodi go tok about Bitcoin again!" she shout.

All ova di world, pipo don already dey invest dia savings inside OneCoin, wit hope say dem go be part of dis new revolution.

Documents wey leak to BBC show say British pipo spend almost £30m ontop OneCoin for di first six months of 2016, £2m of am na inside one single week - and di rate of di investment increase afta di Wembley extravaganza.

Between August 2014 and March 2017 more dan £4bn na im dem invest for many kontris. From Pakistan to Brazil, from Hong Kong to Norway, from Canada to Yemen... even Palestine sef.

But e get one very important tin wey investors no sabi.

To explain dis, I gatz first explain briefly how cryptocurrency dey actually work. Dis one na very difficult tin to do - if you go online you go find different descriptions, some of dem fit scata your brain wit confusion if you no be sabi pesin.

But di first tin to understand: moni only get value becos oda pipo tink say e get value. Weda na Bank of England notes, coin, shell, precious stone or matches - for history all of dem don serve as moni before - e go only work wen evribodi trust am.

For long time, pipo don dey try create some kain digital moni separate from ones wey we sabi. But dem dey always fail becos nobodi trust dem. Dem dey everly need pesin wey go dey in charge, wey go fit manipulate di supply, and e dey too easy to forge.

Di reason many pipo happy wit Bitcoin be say e solve dat problem. E depend on special database wey dem dey call blockchain, e be like big book - one wey everi Bitcoin owners independently get im own but di copies dey identical.

Everitme dem send Bitcoin from me to anoda pesin, record of am go enta evribodi book. Nobodi - weda bank, goment, or di pesin wey invent am - dey in charge or fit change am.

Some kain correct maths dey inside all dis, but e mean say Bitcoin no fit get fake, dem no fit hack am and you no fit spend am two times.

Dr Ruja sense na to cari all dis take sell di idea to pipo.

But e get sometin wey dey wrong. For early October 2016 - four months afta Dr Raju appear for London - one recruitment agent call one blockchain expert Bjourn Bjercke, to offer am work wey no too clear. One cryptocurrency wey wan start from Bulgaria dey look for chief technical officer.

Bjerck go get car and house and dem go pay am £250,000.

"I bin dey tink: 'Wetin my work go be? Wetin be di tins wey I go dey do for dis company?" Im remember.

"And im say: 'Well, first of all, dem need blockchain. Today dem no get blockchain.'"

"I say: 'Wetin? You tell me say na cryptocurrency company.'

Dis agent reply say dat na true. E bin be cryptocurrency company, and e bin run for sometime - but dem no get blockchain. "So we want make you build blockchain, " im tok.

"Wetin be di name of i company?" Bjercke ask.

"Na OneCoin."

Im no take di work.

Dr Ruja disappear

Dr Raju bin dey travel di world dey sell her vision. She travel from Macau to Dubai to Singapore dey gada pipo, dey pull investors. OneCoin bin dey grow fast and Dr. Raju don begin spend her new money wey she hammer.

She buy multimillion dollar property for Bulgaria capital Sofia and di Black Sea resort for Sozopol.

Wen she dey bored she go throw party for her expensive yacht wey dem dey call di Davina. For one of di party sef, America pop star Bebe Rexha come perform sef.

But even wit all di successful cover up, katakata don begin dey warm up. Dem continue to delay di opening of di exchange wey dem promise go allow OneCoin turn into cash and investors don begin dey worry.

Dem bin suppose solve dis mata for one big European OneCoin promoters meeting for Lisbon, Portugal for October 2017.

But wen dat day come, Dr Ruja - wey dey always dey on time - no show.

"She bin dey on her way. Nobodi know why she no come dia," one delegate remember. All di plenti calls and messages, enta voicemail. Her head office for Sofia no know wia she enta too. Dr. Raju don vanish.

Some bin dey fear say maybe di banks don kill or kidnap her wey dem believe say dey fear cryptocurrency revolution pass.

In fact, she don go underground. FBI report wey dem cari go court early dis year show say on 25 October 2017, just two weeks afta she no show for Lisbon, she enta Ryanair flight from Sofia go Athens. Den from dia, she just fade. Dat na di last time wey anybodi see or hear from Dr Raju.

Na Uganda tragedy

For Ntangamo region near Rwanda border, most of di pipo na small farmers of banana, cassava, beans and groundnut. Na here 22 years old Daniel Lienhardt come as in dey try gada 700,000 Ugandan shillings to buy OneCoin starter pack.

Im bin get 400,000 shillings, to raise di rest im return from di capital Kampala to im village, take three goats wey im younger brodas dey raise, sell dem.

"No oda way bin dey," im tok wit regret.

Daniel na one of di thousands of Uganda pipo wey bin buy Dr Ruja cryptocurrency - and di OneCoin documnet wey leak to BBC show say as time dey go, investors like am come dey very important to OneCoin.

For Europe, pipo invest less moni for di first six months for 2017 compare to di same period for 2016. But for Africa, Middle East and India, na di oda way round. As di moni start to dey dry up for Europe, promoters turn to kontris like Uganda.

Daniel cari me and George go meet Prudence, wey first introduce am to OneCoin, Dem still be friends even though dem two realise say na scam.

Prudence na nurse for Kampala, wey bin tink say she go fit make more moni from selling OneCoin, she begin recruit new investors. One senior promoter give her one nice car to take impress customers and tell her to visit farmers wen dem don begin harvest dia farm and get moni for pocket.

Pipo for village trust pipo from city, Prudence tell us. To buy di package, some sell dia cow and sheep, dia land and even dia house - and wit dangerous consequence.

"Some of dia pikin sidon for house dem no dey go school - some no get wia to sleep. Some dey run becos dem collect loan from bank. Some dey hide. some don divorce."

If pipo ask Prudence wen di investment go deliver di riches wey e promise, she go tell dem to wait. She no fit make hersef tell dem di truth.

Wia you dey, Dr Ruja?

Wen we start dey plan di Missing Cryptoqueen podcast for late 2018, nobodi bin get any idea wetin happun to Dr Raju afta she disappear. Na only dis year US authorities tok say she fly go Athens on 25 October 2017. And even den, di question still be, wia she enta from dia?

Rumour boku. Baba of MLM, Igor Alberts, say im hear say she get Russia and Ukraine passport and she dey always travel to and from Russia and Dubai.

Tori be say e get some powerful pipo for native land Bulgaria wey dey support her - and she fit hide wia evribodi fit see her sake of plastic surgery wey go make pipo no fit recognise her. I even hear say she even fit dey London, odas say she don die - dat still dey possible.

E clear say dis na question for professional dat na why Georgia and me go see private investigator Alan McLean. Im work na to find pipo, and di most important tin we suppose focus on.

"Wetin be her lifestyle? Dat na wetin important pass everitin else," im tok. "Go back to her life before OneCoin. Find out who her friends bin be, wetin be her lifestyle, her family."

Anoda idea im give us na to find out wia and wia she go wit her yacht. E say if possible make we get di tracker for am. Wen I explain say dat one pass my power, im say make I check which yacht dem buy for Athens around di time wey she reach dia from Sofia.

"For my mind, she dey move around di Mediterranean," im tok.

Few weeks afta, Alan come back wit very interesting information. Im colleagues - dem too na private investigators - visit some top-top restaurants for Athens wit Ruja foto, and for one of dem, di waiter claim say im remember her as she come chop dia early dis year.

Den me and Georgia call dem to check, dem confam am. So e be like say she still dey alive and still visit some European capital without fear of arrest.

Anoda expo come our way wen we go visit one unusual OneCoin beauty pageant for Bucharest. Di men dey drink champagne from bottle, everyone dey eye us as we dey enta and e make us very uncomfortable.

We sef try flex di environment, we hail di British contestant den waka. But later we hear say we fit bin dey wit Dr Ruja - say she bin dey in front of our nose. Except now she do plastic surgery and e dey very hard to know say na her.

From Greece or Romania dem fit deport Dr Raju go US. If na true say she travel go dos kontris early dis year she fit get fake identity be dat.

We take Alan McLean advice serious wen im say make we study Dr Raju life before OneCoin. Georgia and me enta internet, wey unfortunately no dey forget anything.

Any small pim you tok for internet dey save somewia. You sabi Google, but e get many oda search engine wey specialise for dis kain tin. Na so we begin dig up former address, old fone number, friends, anytin wey fit helep us.

We bin already know say Dr Raju grow for Schramber, south of Germany. We even visit di town of Waltenhofen for Bavaria near wia she and her papa bin dey buy market like ten years ago. As we dey Waltenhofen, we learn say she get German husband wey be lawyer for one popular law company, Linklaters.

But as we dey search internet, we still surprise to see Frankfurt dey appear again and again. Dis na place wey we bin no think of checking.

We also come sabi say Dr Raju bin born one daughter for late 2016, and she dey very close to her. Di daughter fit dey for Frankfurt. Dis na also wia her husband - abi na ex-husband dey work and live.

Na so, wit microphone and plenti foto of Dr Raju, we enta road dey go Frankfurt. We go to di old addresses wey dey one of di most expensive areas for Germany. Some pipo bin first look at di foto like say dem sabi some tin. Dem go wait small, dey give us hope - den dem go say dem no recognise her. We call di lawyer wey dey (abi bin) marry her, and im no wan tok.

Abi we really get close to her? E possible say she dey really hide for inside EU? We no sabi. Frankfurt fit no be di only place wey she dey go - e fit many oda places like Dubai and Russia.

Den some few days afta we receive call from someone wey we trust well but no fit mention im name. He tell us say we dey right - Frankfurt na really di place she dey spend most of her time. But we must continue to dey search, we need to find di house. "You go find her," im tok. "You must dig deeper."

She go don know say we dey look for her, im add, and she dey laff us.

On 5 November 2019, one day afta we do di final episode of Di Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, Dr Raju broda Konstantin Ignatov show for court for New York to testify for goment for case against one lawyer wey dem accuse of $400m magomago wit di moni wey OneCoin make for US.

Ignatov bin sign deal on October 4 wia im plea guilty to many magomago accuse. According to wetin Ignatov tell court, im bin dey try say im sista dupe am di same way her company take dupe di investors - say pipo wey dey criticise OneCoin na "haters" wey dem no suppose believe.

She vanish, im tok, becos she believe say pesin wey dey close to her fit hand am ova to FBI.

OneCoin dey always deny say dem commit any offence. E tell BBC say: "OneCoin fulfil all di criteria to be cryptocurrency." E say di Missing Cryptoqueen podcast "no go present any truthful information and fit dey biased."

E also say dem dey challenge ddi accuse wey dem make against am around di world. "Our partners, our customers and our lawyers dey fight successfully against dis action."

Dr Raju bin identify many weak points for society and she take advantage of am. She sabi say enough pipo go dey desperate enough, or greedy enough, or confused enough to fall mugu for OneCoin.

She understand say e dey get harder to tell which one be truth and which one be lie wit too many information wey dey contradict dem sef online.

She recognise say di pipo wey suppose defend di society against OneCoin - di police, di lawyers, di law makers and also us di media go struggle to understand wetin dey happun.

And di one wey frustrate pass na say she guess well say, by di time we realise am, she don waka wit di moni.