OmegaPro Co-Founder Arrested in Turkey on Suspicion of $4B Ponzi Scheme: Reports

As an analyst with over two decades of experience in the financial sector, I find the case of Andreas Szakacs, now known as Emre Avci, intriguing and concerning, to say the least. The allegations against him and OmegaPro are staggering, with potential losses totaling a mind-boggling $4 billion. This is not just a local issue; it’s a global problem that affects countless investors.

Andreas Szakacs, one of the founders of OmegaPro, was apprehended in Turkey last July, due to his connection with the firm that is suspected of defrauding investors out of approximately 4 billion dollars through a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. This news emerged from Turkish media on Thursday.

After acquiring Turkish citizenship, a former Swede named Szakacs decided to adopt the name Emre Avci, as reported today. However, he denies the allegations against him and claims to have worked in the fields of finance and marketing, according to BirGün, a newspaper based in Istanbul.

According to reports from behindmlm.com and BirGün, the police confiscated 32 digital wallets containing cold storage for cryptocurrencies, along with several computers. Although Szakacs did not disclose passwords for these devices, Turkish authorities were able to trace approximately $160 million worth of crypto transactions.

As an analyst, I observed the fall of OmegaPro towards the end of 2022, coinciding with the demise of the FTX crypto empire. Previously, nations such as France, Belgium, Spain, and Argentina had issued regulatory warnings about this company, according to behindmlm.com reports. It’s important to note that OmegaPro did not focus on U.S. customers, they claimed.

The arrest followed a June 28 tip-off from an anonymous informant.

A Dutch citizen named Abdul Ghaffar Mohaghegh told the authorities that he had lost 7 million dollars as part of a plan, asserting that he held power of attorney for approximately 3,000 investors who together suffered losses totaling 103 million dollars.

Based on reports from Turkey Today and BirGün, Szakacs was taken into custody on July 9 following searches at two villas in Beykoz, Istanbul. According to these sources, the arrest was made on July 10 for allegedly committing fraud using information systems, banks, or credit institutions as means to do so.

CORRECTION (Aug 22, 15:20 UTC): Corrects figure in headline to $4B