Cryptoqueen: Adviser to missing fugitive disappears

Frank Schneider spoke to the BBC for "The Missing Cryptoqueen" podcast

An FBI-wanted former spy and trusted adviser to the fugitive "Missing Cryptoqueen" has disappeared.

Frank Schneider, 53, was under house arrest in France awaiting extradition to the US.

But like his former boss Ruja Ignatova, he has gone missing before facing US justice.

He faces a maximum of 40 years in prison on fraud and money laundering charges for his alleged role in a $4bn (£3.2bn) cryptocurrency scam.

French authorities confirmed to the BBC that Mr Schneider, who was fitted with an ankle tag, had evaded his electronic surveillance.

Nancy's Court of Appeal issued a fresh warrant for his arrest on 16 May, meaning his whereabouts have been unknown for more than three weeks.

Neither Mr Schneider, his wife, or his lawyers could be reached by the BBC.

He worked as a troubleshooter for Miss Ignatova, architect of the OneCoin crypto scam. As investigators closed in on her, she boarded a Ryanair flight from Sofia to Athens in 2017, never to be seen again. The FBI is offering a $250,000 (£200,000) reward for information leading to her arrest.

Speaking to the BBC while under house arrest in August 2022, Mr Schneider said he doubted he would get a fair trial in the US.

"I fear that I have not got access to a legal system in which I can defend myself properly," he told The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast.

"The system is very much based on so-called plea bargaining. Now, for me, that already is a problem, because I profoundly believe that I'm not guilty.

"A trial in the US is a phenomenally expensive thing for a defendant. It will cost millions - between five and eight million is the estimate in my case. Those are amounts that I don't have.

"So I'm a bit stuck as to what would happen in the United States, if I get there."

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Mr Schneider was first arrested by French police in April 2021 while driving with his family near the Luxembourg border. He spent seven months in prison before being released under house arrest.

From his home in a quiet French village he gave a number of interviews to journalists while working with lawyers to challenge his extradition.

A Luxembourg national, Mr Schneider was the head of operations for the country's intelligence service before starting up his own private firm, Sandstone.

Ruja Ignatova whereabouts are unknown, but speculation has increased that she may have been murdered

His work for the "Cryptoqueen" included coordinating the London-based lawyers and PR advisers who helped prolong her scam.

US prosecutors have alleged he also provided her with confidential police information. It is a claim he has denied but he did provide the BBC with confidential police files leaked from Europol meetings, which he claimed were obtained by her. They appeared to show how she stayed one step ahead of investigators before disappearing.

In December 2022 the BBC interviewed Mr Schneider again for an upcoming podcast episode and film. Despite losing an appeal against his extradition two months earlier, he dismissed suggestions he had ever thought about absconding.

"Running away doesn't deal with anything. This battle is not finished yet."

His extradition to the US was signed off by France's Prime Minister on 15 February 2023, Nancy's Court of Appeal confirmed.

Speculation has increased in recent months that Miss Ignatova may have been murdered, following a report by Bulgarian investigative journalists. They tweeted that the source for their story was the Interpol-wanted Krasimir Kamenov.

Mr Kamenov was shot dead in his Cape Town home last month, prompting journalists to link the murder to Miss Ignatova's disappearance. Miss Ignatova's brother, also under house arrest, was ordered by a US judge to have "mental health evaluation/treatment" the day after the murder.

Konstanin Ignatov is cooperating with the FBI after pleading guilty in 2019 to his role in the OneCoin scam.

• Listen to The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast on BBC Sounds - the search for Dr Ruja Ignatova continues.