Poland Authorities Release Pro-Victim Statement Regarding OneCoin to Recover Stolen Funds

According to Bitconist, OneCoin is a platform founded by Ruja Ignatova in Bulgaria in 2014. By the third quarter of 2016, the platform generated $3.8 billion in revenue and its tokens reached a value of nearly 30 euros each, even though there was no underlying blockchain, utility, or monitoring.

The platform grew upon a constant flow of funds from new investors and existing members received a commission for recruiting. The crypto community pegged the platform as an MLM pyramid scheme and lawsuits were instated in several countries.

Authorities arrested Konstantin Ignatov in the United States at LAX on charges of wire fraud. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement,

“They promised big returns and minimal risk, but, as alleged, this business was a pyramid scheme based on smoke and mirrors more than zeroes and ones. Investors were victimized while the defendants got rich.”

Now, it seems that Poland is following suit. Authorities in Poland began an investigation in 2016. The Szcecin District Prosecutor’s Office released a statement on April 19, 2019, informing victims of their rights. According to a translation of the release from Polish to English, it seems that the statement informs victims of their right to apply for an investigation, to participate in acts of the proceedings carried out at the request of the aggrieved party and in activities that cannot be repeated at trial, and of the right to submit a claim for damages or compensation for harm done up to the closure of the court.

Poland and the United States are not the only countries to take action. According to an article by CoinDesk, authorities in a number of nations, including the U.K. Belgium, Uganda, Italy, Nigeria, Germany, Belize, Vietnam, Finland, Belize, China, Bulgaria, and Samoa, have either issued warnings or have been cracking down on the project.