According to CryptoPotato, Irina Dilkinska, the former legal and compliance officer of OneCoin, has been sentenced to four years in prison by US District Judge Edgardo Ramos. The Southern District of New York announced the sentence in relation to Dilkinska's involvement in the extensive OneCoin fraud scheme. Dilkinska was extradited from Bulgaria to the United States in March 2023.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that Dilkinska was involved in the day-to-day operations of OneCoin and engaged in money laundering for the company. This included the transfer of $110 million in fraudulently obtained OneCoin proceeds to a Cayman Islands entity. Dilkinska pleaded guilty to charges linked to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies tied to her position at OneCoin in November of the previous year.
US Attorney Damian Williams commented on the sentencing, stating that Dilkinska's involvement in the OneCoin pyramid scheme was a flagrant breach of conduct. He added that rather than upholding the law and embracing her position as the Head of Legal and Compliance, she facilitated and committed money laundering, aiding in the exploitation of millions of victims. Williams emphasized that the Office will hold accountable every perpetrator of the OneCoin scheme, no matter where they may hide.
In addition to the prison sentence, Dilkinska, a 42-year-old citizen of Bulgaria, was sentenced to one month of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $111,440,000. OneCoin, launched in 2014 and headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria, promoted and traded a deceitful cryptocurrency under the same name using a worldwide multi-level marketing strategy. Investors poured over $4 billion into the fraudulent cryptocurrency due to misleading information about OneCoin.
Earlier this year, Mark Scott, previously a partner at Locke Lord, a US law firm, received a 10-year prison term for his participation in OneCoin. Scott was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and bank fraud in November 2019. In addition to the prison sentence, US District Judge Edgardo Ramos instructed Scott to forfeit $392,940,000 in assets, including bank accounts, a yacht, two Porsche cars, and four real estate holdings. Meanwhile, Ruja Ignatova vanished after receiving a tip-off regarding escalating police investigations into OneCoin in October 2017. An Interpol Red Notice was issued, and Ignatova was added to Europol’s ‘most wanted’ list, although this listing was later removed. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation included Ignatova in its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
