In addition to the known OneCoin movie and TV series in production, we’re also getting a Bulgarian documentary.
“Deception Queen” entered production in late 2021 and is scheduled for release by the end of the year.
Personally I hadn’t heard of Deception Queen so this popped up out of the blue.
As reported by Cineuropa, Bulgarian screenwriter duo Luchezar Avramov and Dimitar Stoianovich are behind the production.
Deception Queen “aims to blow the lid off the story behind the OneCoin Ponzi scheme”.
The team, who are also relying on the expertise of investigative journalist Nikolay Stoyanov and business development specialist Martin Kadilov, are backed by producer Nikolay Mutafchiev, representing PREMIERstudio, and are being supported by the Bulgarian National Film Center with an estimated budget of €275,500.
The Deception Queen is being prepared as the first actual documentary on the case, by following the story from the beginning and digging into the facts from the very source, such as the central office of the OneCoin company in Bulgaria.
The Deception Queen will include unique footage from the rise of Ignatova and OneCoin, many unpublished audio recordings, and interviews with the first CEO of OneCoin, the lead prosecutor in the investigation on the Bulgarian side, the person who currently manages the company’s assets, as well as victims of the scheme in Britain and the USA.
Being a Bulgarian production, the elephant in the room here is the Bulgarian government’s duplicity.
Both with respect to failing to prosecute anyone involved, and for continuing to allow OneCoin to operate out of Sofia.
I’d love to see that addressed in Deception Queen from within Bulgaria, but I’m not holding my breath.
As per their website, the Bulgarian National Film Center is “an administrative body under the Minister of Culture”.
The Minister of Culture oversees the Ministry of Culture, which of course is an arm of the Bulgarian government.
I did note Deception Queen will feature “the lead prosecutor in the investigation on the Bulgarian side”.
Oddly enough, having published almost 450 articles on OneCoin since 2014, I have no idea what this case is.
As far as I know nobody has been prosecuted for anything related to OneCoin in Bulgaria. I’m not even aware there was a Bulgarian investigation into OneCoin at any point in time.
In fact the Bulgarian government, to date, has failed to publicly address the $4 billion dollar Ponzi scheme it failed to take action on – and continues to turn a blind eye to.
Believe it or not OneCoin still operates globally from Sofia, Bulgaria – from the original office Ruja Ignatova bought way back when.
The only Bulgarian action I’m aware of, was Bulgarian authorities escorting German prosecutors to OneCoin’s Sofia offices.
This resulted in a German led raid in 2018. Beyond that, Bulgarian authorities have done nothing.
Also with respect to interviewing OneCoin’s first CEO, that’d be Ruja Ignatova. She’s been missing since 2017, so I doubt they’ve tracked her down for an interview.
Pablo Munoz (below) replaced Ruja Ignatova as a figurehead CEO in late 2016.
After not really doing much other than collect a paycheck for six months, Munoz disappeared in May 2017.
OneCoin quickly replaced Munoz with Pierre Arens. Arens lasted a few months before he quit in October 2017. Both are believed to have been paid upwards of €2 million EUR for their stints.
If Munoz is who Deception Queen has secured for an interview, it’ll be Munoz’s first public appearance since his time at OneCoin.
I’m also curious as to who “the person who currently manages the company’s assets” is. The fact that this individual is not named is telling.
While it’d certainly be interesting to see a homegrown documentary take its own government to task. I don’t think that’s what we’re getting.
Instead it sounds like a vanilla look at OneCoin, with input from some of the scheme’s most culpable culprits.
Deception Queen is scheduled to be released in November 2022.