The former advisor of ‘Cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova has reportedly disappeared just before his extradition to the US to face trial on charges of fraud and money laundering.
Frank Schneider is alleged to have coordinated with lawyers and PR firms to support the operation of the infamous OneCoin scam, which was deemed fraudulent by the Department of Justice.
US prosecutors accuse Schneider of handing over confidential police information to Ignatova, which helped her evade arrest for her role in the $4 billion crypto scheme.
According to a report from BBC, Schneider went missing while under house arrest in France. Authorities also confirmed that Schneider, who is also the former head of operations of Luxembourg’s intelligence agency, evaded electronic surveillance despite being fitted with an ankle tag.
Schneider faces up to 40 years in jail if found guilty of his alleged participation in the OneCoin scheme, but the former spy casts doubt that he would get a fair trial in the US.
Said Schneider during a 2022 interview with The Missing Cryptoqueen podcast,
“I fear that I have not got access to a legal system in which I can defend myself properly. 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… So I’m a bit stuck as to what would happen in the United States, if I get there.”
Schneider’s boss Ignatova remains at large but there are reports claiming that she was murdered by the Bulgarian mafia in 2018.
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