Dutchman arrested for $4 billion cryptocurrency scam in Istanbul

Two managers of the crypto platform OmegaPro, who were under investigation for billion-dollar fraud, have been arrested in Turkey, according to a Turkish media report. Dutch managing director Robert V. was arrested in Istanbul on Tuesday, following the arrest of Swedish co-founder Andreas S. in July, reports the Telegraaf.

The two executives founded the crypto platform in 2018 and registered it in the Caribbean shortly afterwards. The company was headquartered in Dubai. Their success came quickly, and the company recorded profits of 4 billion dollars within a short period of time.

The two fraudsters’ strategy was to lure investors with very high profits. OmegaPro promised investors returns of “up to 300 percent over a maximum period of 16 months,” according to the newspaper. Thousands of investors then invested in the company.

At the end of February, the French public prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into OmegaPro’s dubious trades. According to the Telegraaf, around 2,000 victims in France have filed charges of fraud and misleading business practices by an organized gang.

Turkish police recently confiscated the two suspects’ computers, mobile devices, and 32 crypto wallets, from which transactions worth more than 160 million euros were traced.

The Turkish authorities assume that the fraudulent company in the Ponzi scheme was not acting alone but was linked to Ruja Ignatova. The Bulgarian, internationally known as the “Crypto Queen,” founded OneCoin in 2014, which was also investigated for fraud. Since then, she has disappeared without a trace.