DW Documentary (2025) ¦ Crypto Fraud: The OneCoin Scandal

Crypto fraud: The OneCoin scandal — how a global pyramid hid behind “crypto”

OneCoin emerged in 2014 as a seductive mix of cryptocurrency jargon and classic multi-level marketing. Dr. Ruja Ignatova, a charismatic Bulgarian-born businesswoman who styled herself as a visionary, sold a story of family, community and a new global currency. Beside her stood Sebastian Greenwood, a network-marketing veteran, and a polished sales machine recruited top promoters and marketing talent. Through lavish events and confident messaging — “we are more than just one coin; it is a life” — they convinced many people they were building a legitimate digital currency with a revolutionary blockchain.

The missing technology and the whistleblower revelations

From early on, technical experts and recruits raised red flags. Blockchain is the foundational technology that makes cryptocurrencies function as decentralized, verifiable money. Several technologists who inspected OneCoin’s systems concluded there was no real blockchain: transactions shown on dashboards never appeared in any verifiable ledger, and internal demonstrations could not produce cryptographic proof of distributed verification. Bern (Bjern) Berka recorded and published screen-capture evidence, showing many transactions simply did not exist in the claimed blockchain. OneCoin’s public response was to denounce critics as “haters,” but the core claim — that a working, trustless blockchain underpinned the project — was demonstrably false.

How the scheme monetized believers and avoided scrutiny

OneCoin combined traditional pyramid incentives with opaque financial structures. Investors purchased expensive “education” packages that came with internal tokens; recruiting new members generated commissions, which encouraged rapid, viral spread across countries and communities. DealShaker, a marketplace OneCoin launched, purported to let users spend coins with merchants, but purchases paid hefty fees (e.g., 25% payable in euros), and the platform did not enable genuine cash-out or open-market liquidity. Company revenues ballooned in 2017; funds were routed through a labyrinth of subsidiaries and accounts in tax havens, making financial tracing difficult and delaying coherent regulatory action.

Bastian Schwind-Wagner_Follow "OneCoin was a large-scale fraudulent operation that used crypto language and multi-level marketing to extract funds from millions; exposing it required technical audits, whistleblowers and sustained cross-border investigations. The case shows how easily trust and technical ignorance can be exploited and why stronger oversight and education are necessary."

Social engineering: community, religion and intimidation

OneCoin’s promoters targeted trust networks: families, religious communities, and social groups. Efforts to secure religious approvals — presented as Sharia-compliant product options — were used to soothe moral objections. Critics who questioned OneCoin faced intense social pressure and threats. Whistleblowers reported harassment, doxxing and ominous threats against their safety; some who tried to expose the scheme felt compelled to hide or live in fear. This atmosphere reinforced the internal narrative that critics were malicious outsiders, cementing the loyalty of many investors.

Collapse, fugitives and the aftermath

As legal pressure mounted, the house of cards began to fall apart. In October 2017 Ruja Ignatova disappeared after boarding a flight to Athens; she remains missing and was later placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Sebastian Greenwood was arrested in Thailand and extradited to the U.S., pleading guilty in 2022. Investigations uncovered disturbing links to violence: murders connected to individuals tied into the network added a gruesome layer to the story and raised questions about how criminal elements intersected with the scheme. Senior insiders who left the company later provided databases and other evidence to authorities, documenting the scale of victim lists and internal records.

Rebranding and the persistence of hope

Even after prosecutions, the organisation attempted to persist under new names such as One Ecosystem and attempted migrations onto public chains like Ethereum — always with fees, deadlines, and promises of conversion — encouraging remaining believers to keep hope alive. At in-person events, former investors and new promoters continued to present optimistic narratives, arguing that delays and legal troubles did not mean collapse. For many victims, hands-on involvement, community identity and sunk emotional investment made it extremely difficult to accept that they had been defrauded.

Lessons: psychology, regulation and prevention

The OneCoin affair highlights how financial fraud can exploit human psychology — greed, trust in charismatic leaders, fear of missing out, and the safety of community endorsement. Technically plausible-sounding language (blockchain, tokens, tokenomics) can mask the absence of the systems those words signify. Effective prevention requires better public education about red flags (no verifiable ledger, opaque cash-out options, pressure to recruit, complex corporate structures across tax havens), faster cross-border regulatory cooperation, and accessible channels for whistleblowers and victims to report abuse without fear for their safety.

A tragic summary

OneCoin was not merely a failed technology startup: it was a global fraudulent scheme that combined classic pyramid incentives with modern crypto rhetoric and powerful social engineering. Millions of euros flowed through shell companies; many ordinary people lost life savings while a handful of insiders profited and, in some cases, fled or faced prosecution. The story is a warning that technological buzzwords can be weaponised, and that vigilance, clear regulation and public literacy about how genuine cryptocurrencies function remain essential.