Irina Dilkinska was OneCoin’s Head of Legal and Compliance. She worked closely with founder Ruja Ignatova and other OneCoin executives.
Following her March 20th arrest in Bulgaria, Dilkinska was extradited to the US on March 21st.
I don’t know when Dilkinska (right) was originally indicted but a superseding indictment was filed against her in September 24th, 2020.
As per her indictment, Dilkinska has been charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
From in or about 2019 through in or about 2019 … Dilkinska helped to operate an international fraud scheme involving the sale of a purported cryptocurrency known as “OneCoin” – by, among other things, managing the scheme’s proceeds and evading law enforcement investigations into the scheme – as part of which false statements and misrepresentations were made to solicit individuals throughout the world … to invest in OneCoin, thereby causing individuals to send interstate and international wires representing OneCoin investments.
Dilkinska … willfully and knowingly conspired … to commit money laundering.
It was a part and an object of the conspiracy that Irina Dilkinska … represented the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity, would and did conduct and attempt to conduct such financial transactions which in fact involved the proceeds of specified unlawful activity, to with, proceeds of the wire-fraud scheme.
Insight into the evidence the DOJ has collected against Dilkinska is provided in an accompanying March 21st press-release.
DILKINSKA was the purported Head of Legal and Compliance for OneCoin, but rather than ensuring that OneCoin complied with the law, DILKINKSA assisted in the creation and management of shell companies in order to launder OneCoin proceeds and to hold property belonging to IGNATOVA.
For example, in 2016 and 2017, DILKINSKA helped co-conspirator MARK SCOTT, a former equity partner at a prominent international law firm, launder approximately $400 million in OneCoin proceeds through a series of fake Cayman Islands investment funds operated by SCOTT.
Among other things, DILKINSKA used a company named B&N Consult EEOD, which was falsely described as offering “proprietary consulting services, support and software solutions” to its clients and as generating €200 million in 2015 through 2016, to disguise the transfer of millions of dollars as purported “investments” into SCOTT’s funds.
In reality, B&N was a shell company that did not generate legitimate income and was used by DILKINSKA to launder OneCoin proceeds.
In or around September 2018, DILKINSKA learned of SCOTT’s arrest in connection with his laundering of OneCoin proceeds.
Shortly thereafter, DILKINSKA burned incriminating documents, sent co-conspirator KONSTANTIN IGNATOV a text message with a link to a newspaper article about the arrest, and then wrote a series of texts, including, “See this!!!!!”; “Something is going on!!!!!”; and “If this is true I need the mega lawyers for whom [co-conspirator FRANK SCHNEIDER] was talking!!!”
Ruja Ignatova (right) was indicted in 2017 and remains at large as a wanted fugitive.
Mark Scott was arrested in 2018. He was found guilty on all OneCoin related criminal charges in 2019. Scott’s sentencing remains pending.
Frank Schneider was arrested in France in 2021. His extradition to the US remains pending.
Following her extradition to the US, Dilkinska was presented before a Magistrate Judge on March 21st.
Dilkinska pled not guilty to the two counts in her indictment.
Following her initial appearance, Dilkinska was ordered detained on consent (i.e. she didn’t oppose being detained).
Looking forward, a Conference has been scheduled for April 6th.