The Missing Cryptoqueen: Recent Episodes
BBC Radio 5 live
Dr Ruja Ignatova persuaded millions to join her financial revolution. Then she disappeared. Why? Jamie Bartlett presents a story of greed, deceit and herd madness.
OneCoin victims’ advocate Jen McAdam has helped convince hundreds of Dr Ruja’s scam victims to join her lawsuit. With Dr Ruja missing - possibly dead - it feels like this compensation lawsuit is their best shot at justice. But things take an unexpected turn.
Featuring footage from: Good Morning Britain/ITV, The Islam brothers, Daniel Leinhardt/Youtube, TikTok/maseratimassage.
OneCoin victim Jen McAdam lost thousands in the OneCoin scam, and nearly a decade on, it still dominates her life. Jen blames Dr Ruja, but with her still missing - possibly dead - justice looks unlikely. But Jen has a plan, and hundreds of other OneCoin victims join the fightback.
With the FBI offering a $5m reward for Dr Ruja, her fame reaches new heights. And so does our search for her, with new clues pointing us to Cape Town, South Africa.
Featuring footage from: Aron Hyman/The Cape of Cocaine podcast, Heart FM, TikTok/Coolstorybru, The Hunt, documentary series: Die Kryptoqueen - ARD/arte/WDR, Novinite Nova.
New clues about Dr Ruja emerge in an unlikely - and dangerous - place. We pick up the trail with Scottish OneCoin investor Jen McAdam. Since we released the podcast, Jen’s become consumed by the search for Dr Ruja. Despite the evidence pointing to her murder, Jen’s not convinced - should we be?
Featuring footage from: Aron Hyman/The Cape of Cocaine podcast by TimesLive, BTV, Novinite Nova, News24, Newzroom Afrika, Heart FM, TikTok/Coolstorybru, The Hunt, documentary series: Die Kryptoqueen - ARD/arte/WDR.
It’s been eight years since Dr Ruja Ignatova persuaded millions to join her financial revolution, before disappearing. Jamie Bartlett picks up the story of the now FBI-wanted fugitive; following a trail of greed, deceit, and herd madness.
The search for Dr Ruja Ignatova takes an unexpected turn when a story emerges alleging she's been murdered. But with with sightings of Dr Ruja still coming in long after her apparent demise, can it true? We speak to the Bulgarian journalists behind the story and team up with BBC colleagues to investigate the murder theory. It takes us on a trail to a Bulgarian man widely suspected of heading an organised crime organisation. Meanwhile, a trusted former adviser to Dr Ruja disappears, just like his old boss.
Presenter: Jamie BartlettProducer: Rob ByrneExecutive Producer: Georgia CattCommissioner: Dylan HaskinsSeries Editor: Philip SellarsOriginal music and sound design: Phil ChannellOriginal music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian ChoirFeaturing material from: LiveNow from Fox, Radio 100,7.The Missing Cryptoqueen is a BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Sounds and BBC 5Live
How mysterious friends in influential places may have helped Ruja stay one step ahead. A massive revelation we only now know, but which Ruja knew years earlier.
Who are they? And could they be helping her now?
CREDITS Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producers: Rob Byrne and Georgia Catt Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir Studio Engineer: Giles Aspen Series Editor: Philip Sellars Commissioner: Dylan Haskins The Missing Cryptoqueen is a BBC Documentaries production for BBC Sounds and BBC 5Live
The Missing Cryptoqueen is back with episode 11 on October 19th.
But in the meantime a taster of another podcast, Burn Wild. A story of two fugitive environmentalists, an eco-terrorist cell and a burning question: How far is too far to go to save the planet?
To hear more of Burn Wild, updated each Tuesday, search and subscribe: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0cx6tw7
The search for Dr Ruja Ignatova gathers pace, five years after she disappeared. Files leaked from Dubai reveal how Dr Ruja stashed millions in the emirate and struck up a relationship with a mysterious sheikh. Then, a careless selfie leads the podcast to a mansion in an exclusive gated community. As the FBI steps up its search, new information surfaces about Dr Ruja’s disappearance from an unlikely source.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producers: Rob Byrne and Georgia Catt Series Producer: Georgia Catt Commissioner: Dylan Haskins Series Editor: Philip Sellars Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir Featuring footage from: LiveNow from Fox, 5en News, Prag News, Welt Netzreporter The Missing Cryptoqueen is a BBC Documentaries production for BBC Sounds and BBC 5Live
The search for Dr Ruja is back on. A lot has happened since Episode 8.
Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original Music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
This audio was updated on 12/08/2020 to reflect additional correspondence with Chelgate.
The final episode takes an unexpected twist.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producer: Georgia Catt Additional Research: Ignatius Bahizi Editor: Philip Sellars Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original Music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
Could Dr Ruja and the missing billions be hidden in plain sight? A number of small leads seem to be pointing to one place.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producer: Georgia Catt Editor: Philip Sellars Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original Music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
Episode 7 of 8. Released weekly
Episode 7 will be available on Monday 28 October. We can't say too much, except this...
In 2009 Dr Ruja and her father bought a metallurgic factory in Southern Germany. What does this have to do with her disappearance today? Those who knew her at the time tell a strangely familiar story about the impressive businesswoman who came to save their workplace.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producer: Georgia Catt Editor: Philip Sellars Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original Music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
Episode 6 of 8. Released weekly.
'Who is to blame?'
One of the world's highest-earning Multi-Level-Marketers and former OneCoin top seller agrees to speak. In his mansion on the outskirts of Amsterdam, Jamie learns the secret behind OneCoin's rapid growth and the huge amounts of money that has been made by those at the top.
The Missing Cryptoqueen is an eight-part series for BBC Sounds, with new episodes every Thursday.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producer: Georgia Catt Editor: Philip Sellars Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir Written and researched by Jamie Bartlett and Georgia Catt
Jamie and Georgia arrive in Bucharest in the hope of seeing their first OneCoin event: The Miss OneLife 2019 Beauty Pageant. Who else could be there?
The Missing Cryptoqueen is an eight-part series for BBC Sounds, with new episodes every Thursday.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producer: Georgia Catt Editor: Philip Sellars Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original Music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir Written and Researched by Jamie Bartlett and Georgia Catt
In Spring this year, something unexpected happened. On March 6th 2019, Dr Ruja's brother Konstantin was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport and charged with money laundering and fraud in connection with OneCoin. Dr Ruja was also charged in absentia, and US authorities declared OneCoin a fraud. We thought this could be the end of OneCoin, and our search. It wasn't. Why?
The Missing Cryptoqueen is an eight-part series for BBC Sounds, with new episodes every Thursday.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producer: Georgia Catt Story Consultant: Chris Berube Editor: Philip Sellars Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
Not all is as it seems with Dr Ruja's revolutionary cryptocurrency, OneCoin.
The Missing Cryptoqueen is an eight-part series for BBC Sounds, with new episodes every Thursday.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producer: Georgia Catt Story consultant: Chris Berube Editor: Philip Sellars Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
Dr Ruja promised financial revolution. And then, two years ago, she disappeared. Why?
The Missing Cryptoqueen is an eight-part series for BBC Sounds, with new episodes every Thursday.
Presenter: Jamie Bartlett Producer: Georgia Catt Story consultant: Chris Berube Editor: Philip Sellars Original music and sound design: Phil Channell Original music and vocals: Dessislava Stefanova and the London Bulgarian Choir
In 2014, a businesswoman called Dr Ruja Ignatova launched a new cryptocurrency that promised to change money forever. OneCoin, she said, was similar to Bitcoin, only bigger, better and easier to use. Within two years, over 3 million people had joined the OneCoin revolution, and Dr Ruja became rich and famous. But then she suddenly disappeared and hasn’t been seen since.
For the last six months, writer and journalist Jamie Bartlett has been on the hunt to find The Missing Cryptoqueen. What he uncovers is a lot more than a missing woman. It's a story of greed, deceit and herd madness that takes him all over the world - and gets far weirder than he thought possible.
New episodes every Thursday morning, starting 19th September.