Inside the hunt for a cryptocurrency fraudster who vanished without a trace

With flames leaping from the stage, ear-splitting music pumping from loudspeakers and a screaming crowd, the sell-out event at London’s Wembley Arena seemed more like a rock concert than a financial sales conference.

But as Alicia Key’s Girl On Fire began to fade, an electrified silence swept across the auditorium and Dr Ruja Ignatova took to the stage dressed in a flowing silk ballgown, and with bright red lipstick and spectacular diamond drop earrings.

Then, with thousands of eyes locked on her, the glamorous German-Bulgarian began to spell out an extraordinary vision.

Social media was awash with pictures and clips of Dr Ruja, including a dazzling performance at a European conference organised by The Economist. Blessed with a magnetic personality and good looks, she wielded a cult-like influence, according to disillusioned former followers

The future, she said, belonged to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which had made millions for some small investors and were free of…