Two Moroccans among 201 detained in network accused of diverting $3 billion

The operation was conducted simultaneously at 286 addresses in Istanbul and Muğla province. It involved the Istanbul prosecutor’s office, the Turkish police and the country’s intelligence services. In total, 248 people are under investigation and 201 have been arrested.

Among those detained are 45 foreign nationals from twenty countries. The authorities identified nine Israelis, eleven Pakistanis, two Moroccans, as well as several nationals of Azerbaijan, Syria, Jordan, Ukraine, Thailand and Indonesia.

The information initially published on Friday reported 175 arrests. The figure was subsequently raised to 201, Türkiye Today specifies.

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According to the Istanbul prosecutor’s office, the organization was run by Israeli nationals who appointed managers in different countries. These individuals then created companies, recruited staff and organized the accounting of call centers based outside the targeted territories.

In Turkey, 44 call centers allegedly operated behind 29 companies officially registered in consulting, tourism or telephone services. Investigators suspect that these structures served solely to contact potential victims and collect their money.

Employees were recruited as “conversion agents” or “retention agents.” After one week of training, they were given a pseudonym and an invented personal story. Some were notably required to claim that they had studied at a prestigious university such as Oxford in order to gain the trust of their contacts.

Fake gains to obtain ever more money

The network disseminated advertisements on social media and search engines promising quick returns on currency markets and other online investments. Internet users who provided their contact details were then called back by an operator speaking their language.

The victims initially paid a small sum. A fake interface then showed them fictitious profits in order to convince them to invest more. When they wanted to recover their money, their account was blocked and new sums were demanded from them under the pretext of taxes or unlocking fees.

The system recalls an old scam exploiting a phoning platform based in Morocco, but the Turkish case stands out for its international scale and the amounts mentioned by investigators.

The organization allegedly deliberately avoided Israeli and American citizens. Its main victims were reportedly located in Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, China, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and South Korea.

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According to the Turkish authorities, the amounts taken from victims exceeded $3 billion. The investigation also traced approximately 13 billion Turkish liras in financial movements over two years, equivalent to more than $260 million, presented in particular as salaries or operating expenses.