Former Legal Advisor of Onecoin Sentenced to Four-Year Prison Term for $4 Billion Cryptocurrency Fraud
Former Head of Legal and Compliance for the OneCoin cryptocurrency project scheme, Irina Dilkinska, has been sentenced to four years in prison, marking a significant development in the complex legal situation surrounding the fraudulent cryptocurrency. Dilkinska, aged 42, pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy to launder money charges in November, admitting her role in laundering millions of dollars from the fraud. Despite her lawyer’s plea for a more lenient sentence, US District Judge Edgardo Ramos dismissed her request, noting that Dilkinska was aware of the consequences of her decisions. As part of her sentencing, she was ordered to reimburse $118.4 million as restitution and serve one month of supervised release, highlighting the extent of the financial harm caused by the scam.
Dilkinska’s involvement in the OneCoin fraud adds another chapter to the ongoing legal battle against the $4 billion money scheme. OneCoin masqueraded as a cryptocurrency but never actually functioned as one, operating instead as a pyramid scheme that rewarded members for recruiting others to purchase worthless OneCoin packages.
The mastermind behind the fraud, Ruja Ignatova, also known as the “Cryptoqueen,” disappeared in 2017, around the time when investigators began to question OneCoin. Ignatova was included in the FBI’s list of Ten Most Wanted fugitives in 2022. Another key figure in the OneCoin scheme, co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in September for his involvement in the scam.
Prosecutors revealed that from 2014 to 2019, Dilkinska collaborated with Mark Scott, OneCoin’s US-based lawyer, to launder $400 million through Cayman Islands companies presented as investments. In 2019, Scott, a former attorney at Locke Lord LLP, was convicted of money laundering and received a 10-year prison sentence in January of that year.
Dilkinska’s defense, arguing for leniency in her sentencing, also highlighted her one-year imprisonment at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. Citing the negative conditions at the MDC, Dilkinska described it in a letter to the judge as a place that strips away one’s human dignity and hope. Judge Ramos acknowledged her time at the MDC but only slightly reduced the sentence, emphasizing that Dilkinska should serve as a reminder to all those responsible for the OneCoin fraud and the financial devastation it caused.
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