Cape Town - One of the most wanted persons internationally, Ruja Ignatova who is believed to be hiding out in Cape Town, may have had plastic surgery according to the FBI, while a financial news agency has used an expert to depict how she may have disguised or transformed herself, possibly passing as a male or blonde.
The US Department of State's Transnational Organised Crime unit, who offered a worldwide reward of $5 million in June, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Ignatova, also known as the Crypto queen, told
they could not comment on whether she is in the Mother City or not.
People across the city shared Ignatova's “most wanted” profile and photograph, stating they wanted to receive the reward if she was spotted in an upmarket suburb such as Constantia.
This following global speculation, after a German online publication Spiegel Online report that their police were chasing leads to SA.
According to the FBI, and Interpol, Ignatova is believed to travel with Weekend Argus armed guards and/or associates and may have had plastic surgery or otherwise altered her appearance.
Michael Fisher of Tradingpedia, a financial news agency said they approached an expert to detail how Ignatova possibly transformed her identity in a bid not to be caught, even passing as a male, blonde or cheek or chin implants.
“It has been almost exactly seven years since one of the most recognised financial scammers in the world, Ruja Ignatova, boarded a flight and was never seen again,” he said.
Fisher explained German filmmaker Johan von Mirbach, who has been investigating Ignatova for years, claims to have received information from sources in South Africa that she is living in an affluent neighbourhood in Cape Town.
“We entrusted a criminal sketch artist with the task to explore the possibilities of what Ruja Ignatova might look like today, based on the most recent photos available before her disappearance in 2017,” he explained.
“We asked them to add seven years of ageing and also examine the options of her gaining or losing weight, going through cosmetic surgery procedures and even going to the extreme of changing her gender.
“To track the natural ageing process that must have occurred over the past seven years, we looked at a study dedicated to the anthropological characteristics of Roma people as she is of Roma descent.
Fisher explained that Ignatova, who is of Roma origin, where people preserve high specificity in their genetics and consequently in their phenotype due to the Haplogroup H-M82 (Y-chromosome haplogroup) which is a major lineage cluster in the Balkan Roma.
“A comprehensive study dedicated to the anthropological characteristics of Roma people, proved they have the lowest cephalic index, a wider nose, dark skin pigmentation, and the densest beard.
“The height is mostly short, rarely medium. Straight dark hair and dark eyes are also typical for the Bulgarian Roma,' he stated.
The United States Department of State's Transnational Organized Crime's Redkar, Samidha, told Weekend Argus they could not comment on the allegations that she was in Cape Town.
“Unfortunately the office doesn't have a comment on this at the moment.”
Interpol, who has flagged a red alert for her arrest, told Weekend Argus they too were not to comment on ongoing investigations unless sanctioned to.
“If or when police in any of Interpol's 196 member countries share information with the General Secretariat in Lyon in relation to investigations and individuals, this information remains under the ownership of that member country,” their Press Office said.
“Interpol does not therefore comment on specific cases or individuals except in special circumstances or with the approval of the member country concerned,” their press office said.
According to the FBI and Interpol Ruja Ignatova is wanted for her alleged participation in a large-scale fraud scheme beginning in approximately 2014.
Ignatova and others are alleged to have defrauded billions of dollars from investors all over the world.
Last year, speculation arose that Ignatova was one of four Bulgarians murdered in Constantia, Cape Town which included Krasimir Nikolaev Kamenov who was also wanted by Interpol, his wife and two others.
The police’s Colonel Andre Traut said the murders were still being investigated and did not comment on allegations that Ignatova was one of the victims when asked.
“In response, kindly be advised that the multiple murders in Constantia you are referring to is still under investigation and there are no new developments to report to the media at this stage,” he said.
Further newspaper reports such as the Luxembourg Times claim there was evidence that Ignatova was murdered in 2018 and her body dismembered and dumped in the Ionian Sea.
But to date, the FBI or Interpol or the U.S.the State Department has not deemed the case shut due to her being deceased.
Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, The Hawks said they could not respond on behalf of the FBI and any assistance sought across borders is facilitated through Interpol.