What does a OneLife-produced occasion seem like? Is the group that helps the OneCoin neighborhood competent sufficient to supply a magnificence pageant? The reply to these questions would possibly shock you. For this fourth episode, Jamie Bartlett and Georgia Catt go into the lion’s den. They go to Bucharest, Romania, and help the Miss OneLife coronation. Apparently, the occasion had a few of “the world’s most well-known manufacturers as sponsors.” Nonetheless, because it occurs with every little thing Dr. Ruja associated, issues will not be what they appear.
This episode’s visitor star is Christi Calina, who’s a OneLife “unbiased advertising affiliate” and one of many occasion’s producers. For the reason that man’s ghosting them, Jamie and Georgia ambush him at a OneLife occasion in the identical metropolis. The convention “seems to be like the true deal, identical to OneCoin,” Jamie evaluates. There, they get entry to the Miss OneLife occasion and issues take a flip for the mysterious.
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About “The Lacking Cryptoqueen’s” Episode 4 – “Miss OneLife”
On this episode, Jamie and Georgia undergo the costs in opposition to Konstantin Ignatov, Dr. Ruja’s brother. They include a few of the FBI paperwork in regards to the case and embody emails between Dr. Ruja and “different prime leaders” of the OneLife group. In these, the folks allegedly talk about how the rip-off works intimately. If these are actual, there’s little question that OneCoin was a really deliberate rip-off from the very starting. They even talk about pretend the mining of the cryptocurrency, and provides causes to make use of a well-recognized time period like “mining” to idiot their purchasers.
In these emails, Dr. Ruja discusses a attainable exit technique and proposes they might “take the cash and run and blame another person for this.”
Afterward, the FBI claims Dr. Ruja is “instantly related to vital gamers within the Easter European organized crime.”
It’s vital to know that OneCoin disputes all of those allegations. We included a part of their denial within the quotes part. We additionally included concrete details about Dr. Ruja’s disappearance and a brand new issue that may clarify why she fled on the time she did.
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The Miss OneLife Magnificence Pageant
Our heroes go into the attention of the storm. They will barely enter the premises as a result of everybody within the OneLife group is aware of precisely who they’re. They don’t mix in. Everyone seems to be “well dressed.” Bottles of Moet and cigars abound. The manufacturing is slick. A stage comes down from the ceiling and Jamie loses his thoughts. Ultimately, they each admit that the OneLife group can throw a hell of an occasion. It was boring, although. And it doesn’t seem like any cryptocurrency-related occasion that the podcast host has ever attended.
“OneCoin remains to be going and there’s some huge cash right here,” Jamie says earlier than fleeing the occasion.
Again in London, the producers fact-check every little thing that occurred. The well-known manufacturers that had been supposedly connected to the Miss OneLife occasion deny sponsorship. They’ve by no means heard of the occasion. Then, they contact Forbes and the journal denies that Dr. Ruja was ever on the duvet just like the group made appear of their promotional materials. Then, they test on their training claims. Because it seems, Dr. Ruja did go to Oxford and bought the diploma she claimed to have.
To complete the episode off, Jamie interviews Miss OneLife UK. She provides them peripheral info, just like the occasion’s ticketing wasn’t open to the general public and one of many prizes was a present card for beauty surgical procedure. Then, Jamie mentions Dr. Ruja. She says that she heard somebody vital was on the occasion, however couldn’t bear in mind if it was her.
Is it attainable that Dr. Ruja was in attendance on the Miss OneLife occasion? Apparently, “she’s unrecognizable now.”
This story will get extra fascinating by the minute.
Quotes From “The Lacking Cryptoqueen’s” Episode 4 – “Miss OneLife”
OneCoin’s assertion:
“OneCoin disputes all allegations. To our declare that OneCoin just isn’t a cryptocurrency and that its nominal worth just isn’t decided by demand and provide, however is manipulated and set internally, they stated: “OneCoin verifiably fulfills all standards of the definition of cryptocurrency, and likewise these of a clear pricing that’s in keeping with the widespread market”. The BBC podcast collection, they are saying, “is predicated on testimonials of haters, former workers who had been both fired or disgracefully dismissed for inside firm violations, mental property theft, and different violations. Thus, the collection won’t current any truthful info and can’t be thought-about goal, nor unbiased.”
Concrete details about Dr. Ruja’s disappearance, and a brand new issue that may clarify why she fled:
“The FBI information additionally contained precious new details about Dr. Ruja’s disappearance. “Bulgarian journey data present that on or about October twenty fifth, 2017, Ruja flew on Ryanair from Sofia, Bulgaria to Athens, Greece.” Dr. Ruja was final seen in Sozopol, in round July 2017. That was on her personal yacht, the Davina, the one we noticed. On October seventh, she then failed to show up at a OneCoin occasion in Lisbon. However now we all know that her final recognized whereabouts was the truth is Athens on twenty fifth October 2017. And there’s some extra clues right here.
Final week, I stated that the US authorities charged Dr. Ruja in absentia in March 2019. That’s not the entire story. We’ve realized that Dr. Ruja was really indicted on twelfth October 2017, however this indictment was sealed till March 2019. It was simply two weeks after that first indictment that Dr. Ruja vanished. Is it attainable she may have been tipped off?”
Additional Materials And Episode Credit
As you most likely know if you happen to’ve gotten this far within the collection, Dr. Ruja is on the FBI’s most-wanted list. The textual content below her identify says:
“Ruja Ignatova is needed for her alleged participation in a large-scale fraud scheme. Starting in roughly 2014, Ignatova and others are alleged to have defrauded billions of {dollars} from buyers everywhere in the world. Ignatova was the founding father of OneCoin Ltd., a Bulgaria-based firm that marketed a purported cryptocurrency. To be able to execute the scheme, Ignatova allegedly made false statements and representations to people with a purpose to solicit investments in OneCoin. She allegedly instructed victims to transmit funding funds to OneCoin accounts with a purpose to buy OneCoin packages, inflicting victims to ship wire transfers representing these investments. All through the scheme, OneCoin is believed to have defrauded victims out of greater than $4 billion.”
And eventually, the episode’s credit:
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett
Producer: Georgia Catt
Story advisor: Chris Berube
Editor: Philip Sellars
Unique music and sound design: Phil Channell
Unique music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
Earlier Companion Guides For BBC’s “The Lacking Cryptoqueen” Podcast:
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