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Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced a major operation against an Israeli-linked international fraud network that swindled foreign nationals through fake forex and cryptocurrency investment schemes, with 175 suspects detained in coordinated raids across Istanbul and Mugla.
"We continue our resolute fight, under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, against national and international criminal structures that turn technology and the financial system into instruments of crime.
We are tracking the proceeds of crime and mobilizing all our resources to expose the perpetrators, their connections and their criminal proceeds," Gurlek said in a post on X.
Gurlek said the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had reached significant findings across four separate investigations conducted in 2026.
"In four separate investigations conducted by our Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office during 2026, findings were reached indicating that certain companies operating under the guise of call centers were defrauding foreign nationals through forex and cryptocurrency investment advertisements published on social media and the internet, promising high returns," he said.
The investigation was coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering Crimes Investigation Bureau, in cooperation with the National Intelligence Organization's (MIT) Istanbul Regional Directorate's Organized Crime Department and the Istanbul Provincial Police Department's Cybercrime Department.
Gurlek said analysis by Türkiye's Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), findings from MIT and police units, and hundreds of victim complaints obtained through Interpol led investigators to determine that Israeli-linked individuals were predominant in the ownership and ultimate beneficiary structures of the companies involved, uncovering an organized fraud network targeting multiple countries.
"As a result of MASAK analyses, findings by our MIT and police units, and hundreds of victim complaints obtained through Interpol, it was determined that Israeli-linked individuals were predominant in the ownership and ultimate beneficiary structures of the companies in question, and an organized fraud structure targeting different countries was uncovered," the Turkish minister said.
He said the network recruited victims through customer representatives speaking different languages, generating fake profit displays on investment platforms controlled by the suspects to encourage victims to deposit more money.
"When victims wanted to withdraw their money, additional payments were requested again under pretexts such as 'account blocking,' 'tax' and similar reasons; it was determined that deposited funds were transferred to bank accounts and crypto wallets abroad," Gurlek said.
He said the network, which primarily targeted countries in Europe, the Far East and Africa, moved approximately ₺13 billion ($266.4 million) over two years—a sum authorities assessed as covering only office expenses and salary payments.
Following these findings, authorities launched simultaneous raids at 5 a.m. across a total of 286 addresses in Istanbul and Mugla, targeting 42 call centers belonging to 28 companies and 239 suspects, with Interpol units participating in the operation.
By 10 a.m., raids on the call centers had been carried out, with 175 suspects detained as of the announcement; Gurlek said the operation and additional detentions were ongoing.
Gurlek thanked the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, MIT's Istanbul Regional Directorate, the Istanbul Provincial Police Department, MASAK, participating Interpol units and all public officials involved in the operation.
"Our fight against organized structures that target people's labor and savings through fake investment promises, and that turn technology and the international financial system into instruments of crime, will continue without compromise," Gurlek said.
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