Fraudster, Who Defrauded Investors of 4 Billion Dollars, Caught in Turkey

Andreas Szakacs, one of the founders of controversial cryptocurrency company OmegaPro, was arrested in Turkey in July for allegedly running a pyramid scheme that defrauded investors of $4 billion, according to multiple reports in the Turkish press.

Originally from Sweden, Szakacs reportedly changed his name to Emre Avcı after becoming a Turkish citizen. He denied the accusations, claiming he only worked in finance and marketing.

The arrest followed a tip-off from an anonymous informant on June 28. Following raids on two villas in the Beykoz district of Istanbul, Szakacs was detained on July 9 and arrested on July 10 on charges of “fraud using information systems, banks or credit institutions as a means.”

During the raids, Turkish authorities seized computers and 32 cold wallets, which are typically used to store cryptocurrencies offline.

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Although Szakacs reportedly did not provide the passwords, investigators were able to track the movements of a total of $160 million in cryptocurrencies.

OmegaPro’s collapse in late 2022, which coincided with the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, left many investors around the world in financial ruin.

A key witness in the case, Dutch national Abdul Ghaffar Mohaghegh, told investigators he lost $7 million in the fraud scheme. Mohaghegh also claimed to have represented, through power of attorney, 3,000 affected investors who lost $103 million in the alleged fraud.

*This is not investment advice.

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