Nine Israelis Arrested in Turkey Over $266 Million Investment Fraud Ring

Turkish authorities have arrested nine Israeli citizens suspected of involvement in a decade-long international fraud network that allegedly defrauded victims of approximately $266 million through fake investment schemes. The arrests were made as part of a large-scale operation involving Turkish police, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), and Interpol, which raided hundreds of locations in Istanbul and the Muğla province.

According to officials, the network operated for about ten years, luring victims into investing through controlled platforms and then fabricating profits to encourage further transfers. Funds were allegedly moved to offshore bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets, with some victims losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Investigators identified one of the key suspects as an Israeli national also holding a Portuguese passport. The report suggests that some operations previously based in Israel relocated their customer service centers to Turkey, partly due to tensions between the two countries.

All nine arrested Israelis reportedly worked in customer service call centers. These centers allegedly recruited multilingual staff, including speakers of Japanese, Hindi, French, and Spanish, and trained them to create false identities and gain victims' trust. Employees were reportedly forbidden from speaking Hebrew within the offices and were instructed not to contact Israeli citizens.

The investigation is ongoing, with authorities examining the full scope of the operation and financial flows. The arrested individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty.