OneCoin money launderer extradited to the U.S.

One of the co-defendants in the OneCoin scandal will be extradited to the U.S.

One of the co-defendants in the OneCoin scandal will be extradited to the U.S. He is charged with laundering hundreds of millions. As the world's biggest crypto scam, OneCoin has written a dark page in the history books. Investors lost about four billion dollars thanks to the fraudulent OneCoin system. While the mastermind behind it, Ruja Ignatova, also known as the "CryptoQueen", is still being sought on an international arrest warrant, a British court has now approved the extradition of a OneCoin money launderer to the U.S.

The suspect, Christopher Hamilton, allegedly laundered $105 million for OneCoin through Viola Asset Management. The funds were deposited by Gilbert Armenta, a Florida financier said to have ties to Ignatova. The accounts were then checked by Hamilton and the compliance officer Robert McDonald. According to the indictment, Hamilton and McDonald also stole $32 million from Armenta.

"Serious cross-border crime"

Most of the damage, the defense argued, sits on Britain’s ledger, and they argued against extradition to the U.S. According to Judge Rimmer, it was about "serious cross-border crime" and the interests of the victims of the OneCoin fraud are a global matter. As a result, all victims, including Americans, have an interest in seeing those involved in the fraud prosecuted. McDonald, who cares for his seriously ill wife, may remain in the United Kingdom. Extradition would be "an unjust violation of his human rights given his family situation", the court said. The case now goes to the home secretary for a final decision. Hamilton can still appeal.

OneCoin: promises on top of promises

OneCoin was a massive scam between 2014 and 2016 that made headlines around the world. Investors were promised cryptocurrencies that (in hindsight) never existed. OneCoins were artificially created, prices manipulated. The OneChain blockchain never existed. Investors lost about four billion U.S. dollars due to the fraud—the largest crypto scam ever.

In 2017, authorities dismantled OneCoin, and several others involved in the international fraud scheme have since been arrested. But one key figure remains at large: OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova. She was the face of the organization, founded the company in 2014 in Bulgaria, and has not been seen since 2017. In June 2022 the FBI put Ignatova on the list of the ten most wanted criminals.