Andreas Szakacs, a co-founder of the cryptocurrency platform OmegaPro, was arrested in Turkey last month for his alleged involvement in a $4 billion Ponzi scheme, Turkish media reported on Thursday.
Szakacs, a Swedish national who became a Turkish citizen and changed his name to Emre Avci, denied the accusations, claiming he worked in finance and marketing, according to the Istanbul-based daily BirGün.
The Turkish gendarmerie reportedly seized computers and 32 cold wallets during the arrest, although Szakacs did not provide passwords for the devices. Authorities were nonetheless able to trace cryptocurrency movements totaling $160 million, as reported by BirGün.
OmegaPro, which reportedly collapsed in late 2022 around the same time as the FTX crypto empire, had been flagged by regulators in several countries, including France, Belgium, Spain, and Argentina, for potential fraud. However, the platform did not target U.S. customers.
The arrest of Szakacs followed a tip-off from an anonymous informant on June 28. A Dutch national, Abdul Ghaffar Mohaghegh, provided a statement to the gendarmerie, claiming he lost $7 million in the scheme and held power of attorney for 3,000 investors who collectively lost $103 million.
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In his statement, Szakacs denied the allegations, asserting that OmegaPro went bankrupt in late 2022, leading to massive losses for him and his team. He claimed they compensated many victims before the bankruptcy.
Szakacs mentioned his work in finance and marketing, earning $100,000 monthly, and stated he acquired Turkish citizenship through construction investments, though he couldn’t recall the locations. Despite his defense, the Beykoz Criminal Court of Peace ordered his arrest on July 10 on charges of fraud, and the investigation is ongoing.
Szakacs’s lawyers argued that the complainants were aware of the risks associated with Forex trading, adding that there is always a risk of losing money in such markets. However, he was reportedly arrested on July 9 after raids on two villas in Beykoz, Istanbul on charges of “fraud using information systems, banks, or credit institutions.”
