Turkish authorities have arrested Andreas Szakacs, a Swedish national involved in orchestrating the OmegaPro cryptocurrency scam. The operation, which is estimated to have defrauded investors of around $4 billion, has attracted widespread attention due to its scale and complexity.

OmegaPro, a platform that operated under the guise of a legitimate investment opportunity, was structured similarly to a pyramid scheme. In this model, funds from new investors were used to pay returns to previous participants, creating a misleading illusion of profitability. This strategy ensured the sustainability of the scheme for a time, even while concealing its fraudulent nature.

According to an August 21 report by Turkiye Today, Szakacs, who had adopted the alias Emre Avci when he moved to Turkey, was arrested following a tip from an anonymous informant. The informant’s information led authorities to a villa in Istanbul, where Szakacs was arrested on July 9. Abdul Ghaffar Mohageh, a Dutch national who represented some 3,000 victims who collectively lost $103 million in the scam, further confirmed the arrest. Mohageh himself had invested $7 million.

OmegaPro closed after it stopped accepting withdrawals in November 2022 and eventually closed completely in July 2023. The program’s collapse left many investors unable to access their funds, leading to widespread financial loss and client stress.

In addition to Szakacs’ arrest, the Turkish Gendarmerie noted that 16 local users of the OmegaPro app had been identified. These individuals reported that initial investments seemed to generate quick returns, leading to higher deposits. However, when investors attempted to withdraw their funds, their accounts were emptied, exposing the fraudulent nature of the operation.

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Notably, the OmegaPro scam bears striking similarities to OneCoin, another major cryptocurrency fraud with losses estimated at $4 billion. Both schemes used deceptive practices to gain and maintain investor trust while systematically siphoning off funds. In June 2024, the U.S. State Department increased the reward for information leading to the arrest of OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova, who has been in hiding since 2017, to $5 million.

In September 2023, Carl Sebastian Greenwood, a key figure in the OneCoin scheme, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $300 million fine. Earlier this year, Irina Dilkinska, former head of legal and compliance at OneCoin, was sentenced to four years in prison and a $111 million fine by a US court.