The Southern District of New York announced that Irina Dilkinska was sentenced to four years in prison by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos for her involvement in the massive OneCoin fraud scheme.
Dilkinska was the former head of legal and compliance at OneCoin who was arrested and extradited from Bulgaria to the United States in March 2023.
Sentencing
According to a statement of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Dilkinska participated in its daily 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 related to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges related to his position at OneCoin in November last year.
Commenting on the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:
“Irina Dilkinska’s involvement in the massive OneCoin pyramid scheme constituted a blatant violation of her conduct. Rather than upholding the law and fulfilling her role as head of legal and compliance, she facilitated and committed money laundering, contributing to the exploitation of millions of victims. As Dilkinska learned today, this office will hold all perpetrators of the OneCoin scheme accountable, no matter where they hide.
In addition to the prison term, Dilkinska, a 42-year-old Bulgarian citizen, was sentenced to one month of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $111,440,000.
The OneCoin saga
Launched in 2014 and based in Sofia, Bulgaria, OneCoin promoted and traded a deceptive cryptocurrency under the same name using a global multi-level marketing (“MLM”) strategy.
Due to misleading information about OneCoin, investors invested more than $4 billion in the fraudulent cryptocurrency. Dilinska previously pleaded guilty 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, an American law firm, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in OneCoin. Scott was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and bank fraud in November 2019.
In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos ordered Scott to forfeit $392,940,000 in assets, including bank accounts, a yacht, two Porsche cars and four pieces of real estate.
Meanwhile, Ruja Ignatova disappeared after receiving a tip-off regarding intensified police investigations into OneCoin in October 2017. Subsequently, an Interpol Red Notice was issued and Ignatova was added to the list of “persons Most Wanted” by Europol, although this list was later deleted.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation included Ignatova in its list of ten most wanted fugitives, publicizing the case at a joint press conference with IRS Criminal Investigation and the United States Attorney's Office. United Southern District of New York.
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