Early last year Austria’s Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection issued a warning against OneCoin.

Some point after it appears the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) opened their own investigation, the conclusion of which has now prompted a criminal investigation.

The FMA is Austria’s top financial regulator and has the power to impose administrative penalties of up to 10 million euro, or 15% of a company’s total net turnover.

Upon investigating OneCoin, the FMA found OneCoin marketing videos that advise affiliates to

recruit mainly from their circle of friends and acquaintances, which pays large commissions.

This suspiciously sounds like a pyramid scheme.

One of the top affiliates in the Steinkeller brother’s “One Dream Team” is an Austrian affiliate, with an estimated 48,000 affiliates under them.

The FMA don’t name the affiliate but have observed him or her hosting OneCoin recruitment events in Austria.

Upon concluding OneCoin was a pyramid scheme, the FMA ‘alerted law enforcement authorities‘.

The Public Prosecutors Office of St. Pölten has launched a criminal investigation, citing suspicion that OneCoin are operating a “fraudulent pyramid scheme”.

The investigation appears to still be in its early stages, with prosecutors yet to name any suspects.