Ex US president’s brother named in OneCoin trial

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The ongoing drama of the OneCoin Ponzi scheme continues to find new ways to surprise onlookers. In ongoing court battles concerning the scam, Neil Bush, son and brother to two former Presidents of the United States, has been named as a possible party in a deal which would have been partly paid in OneCoin.

As first reported by Law360.com, Mark Scott, former attorney at international firm Locke Lord and current defendant as part of the prosecution against OneCoin, has cited Neil Bush’s involvement with OneCoin as a basis for believing in their ‘good’ reputation. Scott received $300,000 to meet with OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova, and claims Bush’s attendance at the meeting led him to believe it wasn’t a scam.

Arlo Devlin-Brown, attorney for Scott, reasoned with U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that if they could compel Bush to testify that he was part of a potential deal with OneCoin that it would give credence to Scott’s belief that it was a legitimate company.

Bush is a board member with Hoifu Energy, which had a $60 million loan that would be financed with both cash and OneCoin. Devlin-Brown read from an FBI interview how Bush got roped into the conversation:

Bush recalled that the head of Hoifu Energy, Dr. Hui Chi Ming, received a bunch of cryptocurrency for an oil deal in Madagascar. Bush had a residual interest in the cryptocurrency from the oil deal. Bush met the woman from the cryptocurrency company, Ruja Ignatova, in Hong Kong with Dr. Hui.

Bush’s attorney, David Gerger, admitted the presidential offspring had met with Ignatova, but that he had no role with Hoifu, no relationship with Scott, and nothing came from the meeting ultimately. Judge Ramos ultimately decided Bush would not have to testify.

OneCoin investigations and prosecutions look like they will stretch out much further into the future. While previous estimates suggested the scam stole roughly $4 billion, new estimates think the figure could be several times larger, and while Ruja Ignatova’s brother, Konstantin, has been sentenced to jail for 90 years, the Cryptoqueen herself is still on the run.