The Southern District of New York announced that Irina Dilkinska was sentenced to four years in prison by US District Judge Edgardo Ramos for her involvement in the extensive OneCoin fraud scheme.
Dilkinska served as OneCoin’s former legal and compliance officer who was caught and extradited from Bulgaria to the United States in March 2023.
Sentencing
According to a statement from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Dilkinska participated in its day-to-day operations and engaged in money laundering for OneCoin instead of ensuring compliance with the law. This included orchestrating 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 last year.
Commenting on the sentencing, US Attorney Damian Williams said,
“Irina Dilkinska’s involvement in the sprawling OneCoin pyramid scheme was a flagrant breach of conduct. 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. As Dilkinska learned today, this 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 Saga
Launched in 2014 and headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria, OneCoin promoted and traded a deceitful cryptocurrency under the same name using a worldwide multi-level marketing (“MLM”) strategy.
Due to misleading information about OneCoin, investors poured over $4 billion into the fraudulent cryptocurrency. Dilinska had previously admitted guilt to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
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. Subsequently, 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, publicizing the matter in a joint press conference with IRS Criminal Investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York.
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