OneCoin head denied bond, awaits trial behind bars

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In a move that was not surprising, the judge in the New York Southern District Court overseeing the trial of OneCoin executive Konstantin Ignatov rejected a bond application on June 28, forcing Ignatov to await trial in jail.

Defense counsel for the OneCoin executive proposed a series of conditions that would allow their client to be released from custody. This included paying $10 million in cash as well as providing the personal property to secure a $20 million personal recognizance bond. Ignatov was also willing to pay for a 24-hour armed guard service to provide security for the embattled CEO that would ensure he would not be able to leave. It was also stipulated that he would not use cell phones or computers apart from reviewing materials for his trial.

After reviewing the bond application, Judge Edgardo Ramos soundly rejected it. Prosecutors for the U.S. government explained to the judge that there was no reason to believe that he would comply and that he simply could not be trusted if released. “He simply cannot be trusted to comply with any conditions set by the Court, having already lied to U.S. border agents, investigating case agents, and even the very Pretrial Services Officers tasked with evaluating appropriate bail in this case,” prosecutors said.

Earlier in the week, the prosecuting attorneys explain to the judge that they did not believe that any conditions or amount of bail was substantial enough to ensure that Ignatov would appear in court. They pointed out that his lack of ties to the U.S. added to the fact that he has the ability to flee to countries that would not extradite him back to this country was reason enough to deny him bail. The judge agreed.

Ignatov was arrested in March at the Los Angeles International Airport. He was charged with wire fraud conspiracy in conjunction with a case of crypto fraud that was filed against him and his brother Ruja Ignatov.

OneCoin was founded in 2014, but quickly earned a reputation as a potential Ponzi scheme. The company was able to raise $3.8 million from investors using a low risk, high reward pitch, but soon regulators crypto insiders were labeling the exchange as a “scam.” This included the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, which sounded the alarm last month.