After years of chasing the founder of the largest Ponzi scheme in the crypto world, Ruja Ignatova, her brother, Konstantin Ignatov finally pleaded guilty for committing fraud and money laundering.
Not only did he admit these crimes, but he also accused the founder of a racehorse fund of stealing $110 million from the Ponzi scheme. The founder in question is Amer Abudlaziz. His investment company called Phoenix Thoroughbreds denied all allegation and “categorically” denied that any money was stolen and laundered through the OneCoin scam.
Nevertheless, recent press reports that the US government states that in the beginning of 2017, around $110 million was transferred from the accounts of OneCoin to a Phoenix’ account in an Irish bank. The name of the bank is not mentioned, but it became known that the same bank was used by the former lawyer involved in the OneCoin scandal, Mark Scott, for laundering funds on behalf of the scheme. The latest news is that Scott was found guilty on charges of fraud and money laundering and could spend up to 50 years in prison.
This is what the statement of Phoenix read:
Phoenix Fund Investments LLC categorically denies all allegations made against it, and its owner, Mr. Amer Abdulaziz, in legal proceedings against OneCoin and its conspirators in the US.
The company is now ready to defend itself on all potential charges brought to it. In fact, the British Horseracing Authority recently issued a statement to The Irish Field assuring that they are working with authorities to further investigate the issue and resolve the situation.
Another pitfall on the side of Phoenix is that the fund actually misrepresented itself, as the fund was never regulated. On top of that, it claimed it’s the world first regulated thoroughbred fund, a statement that is a gross misrepresentation of the facts. In addition, according to Racing Post, the company never operated as an investment fund.
The latest news is that Phoenix has decided to enter liquidation on a voluntary basis and up until now it is not clear whether the decision comes from the allegations that they were involved in the OneCoin scheme.