OneCoin, my first time hearing that name is when this bloke (who was definitely West African) sent a email through eloquently introducing OneCoin to me and the wonderful opportunities to be had. My scam-detector was not only blaring, but all my mental faculties were in high alert. In fact, I am pretty sure I broke into a guffaw. I believe he reached out via LinkedIn if my memory serves me well. Being a good chap, I replied to that email, you know with the usual 'what-are-you-all-about' tone. He recounted the OneCoin manifesto with what I would term as 'cultic zeal'. We didn’t exchange much correspondence, eventually he concluded that there wasn’t much to be wrought from continuing with our tête-à tête. This is the story of many a folk who have come across this breed of scam, a smorgasbord of which have fallen victim to their nefarious ways. Two days ago, India apprehended 18 representatives from OneCoin who were out and about crusading for their cause.
According to FinancialExpress.com, the company does not have any registered office not does it have a bank account; all “investments” had to be in cash. An unsuspecting Indian would have to part with 11, 900 Rs under the promise of acquiring massive returns by 2018. This reminds me of that time in London where they made such a big claim of having created over 300 millionaires. It was a recruiting event where over 1000 souls came to sell themselves. The trick is to get in early. So who the hell are these people?
It is based out of Bulgaria, “zdravei, world, we are here to steal your minds and money.” I would imagine a secret board meeting would recite that as a mantra. OneCoin.eu and One Foundation have been proved to be scams, with an overwhelming collection of evidence stacked against them. Notably, it is said that the founders have been involved in other illicit business practices or scams.
Their CEO and founder, Dr.Ruja Ignatova is touted as a formidable business leader, although people question her credentials, which state she has been to Oxford and Harvard. There is little evidence to back this and there are confused statements that lend to their credence.
So how does it bloody work? Well, I should state that most well-reasoned people have said that most of the hogwash that they declared is a complete fabrication. Of course it is! One method that they use to rake in the unsuspecting plebeians is the smoking mirrors of opulence and prestige. They carefully choreograph the whole shebang because if one must steal people’s money, one must look like money. It is a masterful management of optics! It is a strategy from the multiple-level marketing handbook.
They have OneAwards that they give to their best “reapers” as I call them, but let’s call them traders for the purpose of this conversation. From the Black Diamond reaper level to the Double Diamond reaper level, not to mention the bag of goodies they get. From cloak dagger answers to technical questions to phony publications and false flag operations. What guts me is how they use the One Foundation to make claims of charity work that is none-existent.
Of course it has made its way to Africa. And we know that several central banks have issued warnings against using cryptocurrency, inclusive of Bitcoin.
That said, Bitcoin education is spreading across the continent as adoption begins to take root. Most importantly, it is the warning against the use of OneCoin that is much appreciated. For instance, the Ugandan authority has been carrying out a campaign against OneCoin, along with Nigeria. This is not to say that the European entity is not taking action against these marauding folks at OneCoin.
In Kenya, we had an alarming spread of the MMM Global scam, which I believe was the reason that there was a tussle between a local Bitcoin company, BitPesa and Safaricom. On the aftermath of that precipitation, a series of events took place. That said, I decree that Kenyans are a clever lot and can distinguish the nuances in such matters.
With the proper awareness of the public carefully done, scams like OneCoin and any other would have very little hold. Granted, it is never easy because these institutions are built on rather cultist foundations, but nevertheless we must press on in rigorous fashion.