Andreas Szakacs, co-founder of the OmegaPro Ponzi scheme, appears to have been arrested in Turkey.

BehindMLM first learned of Szakacs purported arrest in Turkey a few weeks ago. A reader wrote in and provided what appeared to be credible evidence.

They asked us not to share specifics pending permission from the source though. We obliged.

Following another reader reaching out about Szakacs’ arrest a few days ago, I reached out to our original source requesting an update on permission – which was granted.

OmegaPro was an MLM crypto Ponzi that pitched a 200% ROI over 16 months. Following OmegaPro’s collapse in November 2022, Dubai-based co-founders Andreas Szakacs and Dilawar Singh disappeared.

Having obtained false credentials, Szakacs appears to have relocated from Dubai to Turkey under the name “Emre Avci”.

Szakacs was arrested on “financial cheating” charges on July 10th, 2024.

Following his arrest, Szakacs was transferred to Maltepe prison where he is believed to still be held. Maltepe is a municipal district of Istanbul, south-east of the capital city.

I have been keeping an eye out for any local reports confirming Szakacs’ arrest but haven’t seen any. This could be due to the pending arrest of Dilawar Singh, who is/was believed to be under surveillance in Spain.

As at the time of publication whether Singh is in custody remains unclear. What we can confirm is Singh deactivated his social media accounts around the time of Szakacs’ arrest.

Also unclear is the scope of the case against Szakacs, and whether US authorities are involved.

Le Journal de Montreal reported a French criminal investigation into OmegaPro last month.

“The Central Office for the Suppression of Serious Financial Crime has been tasked […] with carrying out checks, in order to establish whether French jurisdiction can be retained or whether it will be appropriate to make an official report to the English authorities,” the public prosecutor’s office said.

Two thousand French OmegaPro victims are reported to have filed a criminal complaint in February.

Unless French authorities have moved at lightning speed though, I don’t believe they’re behind Szakacs arrest – at least not directly.

OmegaPro was careful not to directly target the US. Victims of the scam were instead curated from mostly third-world countries.

That said, OmegaPro was directly tied to the US through its third co-founder, Mike Sims.

In addition to profiting off the scheme and overseeing money laundering, Sims was also the bridge between OmegaPro and collapsed The Traders Domain non-MLM Ponzi scheme.

The Traders Domain collapsed a few months before OmegaPro. BehindMLM’s extensive research led us to believe the two Ponzi schemes’ respective collapses were interlinked.

The CFTC filed suit against The Traders Domain ringleaders (including Sims) in February 2023. As of yet though no criminal charges have been made public.

A number of US residents were involved in The Traders Domain. Holton Buggs is believed to have stolen over $125 million, followed by Sims at around $84 million.

Another notable net-winner was disgraced veteran MLM trainer Eric Worre and wife Marina. Together, the Worre’s are reported to have stolen over $21 million from The Traders Domain victims.

Worre also got involved with OmegaPro in the months leading up to its collapse.

On Andreas Szakacs hiding out in Turkey; the country has recently emerged as a haven for “international criminal networks”.

Lax laws on money laundering, easy access to citizenship, insufficient prosecution — Turkey has grown more attractive for international criminal networks. In response, the new interior minister has declared a crackdown.

In April 2024 Europol cited Turkey as “a hub for significant criminal syndicates, posing a serious threat to the safety and security of Europe”.

Numerous key figures in criminal networks, based primarily in Belgium and the Netherlands, engage in trafficking cocaine and cannabis, along with money laundering, with many having Turkish origins.

“They are present in more than 40 countries, with main operations in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain in the EU, and the United Arab Emirates outside the EU,” the report said.

“Turkish key members often form the core of criminal networks with Belgian, Dutch and German criminals. These networks engage mainly in drug trafficking (cocaine and cannabis) and money laundering.

Main countries of activity include Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Türkiye.

Szakacs, a former promoter of OneCoin, promoted the $4 billion plus Ponzi scheme across Turkey.

BehindMLM has researched and tracked two Russian crime syndicates operating out of Turkey; the scammers behind Cancri Jewelry and a series of MLM crypto Ponzis fronted by Canadian national Jan Gregory in 2023 (CoinMarketBull, Maxspread Technologies, Vortic United, CloudFi and SureX).

Not enough to declare Turkey a hotbed for MLM related financial crime like Dubai, but we’re keeping an eye on developments.

Pending any updates on Szakacs’ arrest we’ll keep you posted.

 

Update 21st August 2024 – Turkish publication BirGun has provided us with some additional information on Szakacs’ arrest.