World's Largest Crypto Fraud Case, OneCoin Founder Enters Bui

Karl Sebastian Greenwood, founder of OneCoin. (Photo; Doc. Expressen)

JAKARTA - Karl Sebastian Greenwood, a founder of the OneCoin cryptocurrency, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a massive $4 billion fraud (equivalent to Rp66 trillion) with a fake cryptocurrency scheme known as OneCoin.

Greenwood is one of the founders of fake crypto OneCoin who managed to raise user funds of around 4 billion euros or IDR 66 trillion and a profit of around 2.7 billion euros (around IDR 44.6 trillion) between 2014 and 2016. This scheme is considered one of the first and largest criminal scams involving cryptocurrencies at the time. About 3.5 million people worldwide were victims of OneCoin fraud.

OneCoin operates using a tiered marketing scheme or multilevel marketing (MLM). OneCoin commissions people recruiting new participants. OneCoin founder, Greenwood, apparently does not work alone.

He collaborated with Ruja Ignatova, known as the "Cryptoqueen" who is currently the most wanted fugitive by the United States FBI. The FBI has announced that it will reward 100,000 US dollars (equivalent to Rp1.5 billion) for anyone who can provide information about Ignatova.

According to prosecutor Greenwood managed to raise up to 300 million (IDR 4.6 trillion) from this fraudulent scheme. He used most of the money to buy property in various countries such as Spain, Dubai, and Thailand. Greenwood also lives a luxurious lifestyle, including frequently traveling on OneCoin private jets, buying clothes from well-known designers, and even paying a down payment for Sunseeker cruise ships.

The judge of the United States District, Edgardo Ramos, said that this fraud was a very massive thing. He highlighted several reasons why OneCoin's scheme is dangerous, such as having its own blockchain, not owning a real crypto coin, and the unregistered OneCoin on a leading crypto exchange. As a result, the victims in this scheme could not withdraw their investment, and their money was most likely unable to return.