One year after the disappearance of Frank Schneider, a former member of Luxembourg's State Intelligence Service (SREL) involved in the crypto scam 'OneCoin', traces of his whereabouts have emerged in Dubai and Bali.
Luxembourgish news website Reporter.lu and German magazine Spiegel reported these developments on Wednesday.
Up until a year ago, Schneider had been under house arrest in France until his escape.
Why was Frank Schneider under house arrest?
Schneider's house arrest was due to his involvement in the OneCoin crypto scam, which defrauded victims of a staggering $4 billion. He and his company Sandstone were associated with OneCoin and its founder, Ruja Ignatova, known as the "Crypto Queen." Ignatova is currently on the FBI's Most Wanted list. The US Department of Justice has charged Schneider with wire fraud and money laundering related to OneCoin and has sought his extradition.
French authorities arrested Schneider three years ago in Audun-le-Tiche, near his residence at the time. After spending several months in a Nancy prison, he was placed under house arrest.
Why did he flee?
Schneider, who gained notoriety in Luxembourg following the 2012 SREL scandal that led to the collapse of the final government headed by Jean-Claude Juncker as Prime Minister, has partially admitted his guilt. By filing complaints against himself with French and Luxembourgish authorities, he attempted to avoid extradition to the US, where he faces up to 30 years in prison.
Schneider also tried to leverage a document from the US Department of Justice, which named Luxembourg as the place where the money laundering took place and listed various individuals, companies, but also Spuerkeess and the National Credit and Investment Company (SNCI). His message was clear: if extradited, he might be forced to disclose insider information to US authorities.
When the Court of Cassation in Paris denied his appeal and the Luxembourg government refused to intervene in his case, Schneider decided to flee.
Reporter.lu and Spiegel on the trail of Frank Schneider
Luxembourgish news website Reporter.lu and German magazine Spiegel have been investigating the current whereabouts of Frank Schneider through his business activities. Schneider, who reportedly earned at least €4 million from his involvement with OneCoin, claimed to have ceased his activities with the company in 2017. Around that time, Schneider was granted a visa for Dubai, though the frequency of his visits or his current presence there remains unclear.
Data from the "Dubai Unlocked" investigation, in which Reporter.lu participated, reveal that Schneider sold a flat in Dubai for about €2 million in 2022, i.e., while under house arrest in France. Additionally, Reporter.lu discovered that Schneider founded a company on the Indonesian island of Bali in 2020 to facilitate the purchase of a property there. Interestingly, in September 2023, ownership of this property was transferred from Schneider to his wife, Sophie Norman.
Schneider's activities were not limited to Dubai and Bali. In early 2024, authorities in New Zealand seized a house in Wellington and an unspecified amount of money belonging to him.
Despite numerous attempts by Reporter.lu and other media outlets to contact Schneider since his escape, all efforts have been unsuccessful.
And what about the Crypto Queen?
Spiegel interviewed Kari W., a former OneCoin member from Finland, regarding the whereabouts of Ruja Ignatova, the so-called "Crypto Queen." Kari W. assures that rumours alleging Ignatova was murdered and disposed of at sea are "bullshit." He insists she is still alive and claims to have her phone number. However, he refuses to disclose this information, stating, "I'm not a fucking rat."
