Breaking: Israeli Police Bust Massive Online FX Investment Fraud, Arrest Six

Tuesday, 05/09/2023 | 13:05 GMT by Arnab Shome
  • The fraudsters defrauded investors across Europe.
  • The mastermind of the fraud is still at large.
Israeli police busts FX frauds
Arrests by Israeli police in Ramat Gan offices of Airsoft last year; Photo: Israeli police

In a major crackdown against investment fraud, the cyber unit of Israel Police's Lahav 433 arrested six suspects and detained several others, who allegedly defrauded investors online and provided digital infrastructure to other criminal organizations. The scale of the scams was massive as it is suspected that they provided infrastructure for fraudulent offenses to hundreds of forex offices globally and siphoned off tens of millions of euros, according to Israeli news outlet Posta.

A Massive Bust of Israeli Police

The raids and arrests by the Israeli police followed an investigation by German authorities against the fraudulent ring.

According to Posta, Despite the six arrests, Jeremy Katlan, also known as Roni Hajjaj, who is allegedly the head of the criminal network, managed to escape abroad. The latest arrests by Israeli authorities from the forex office in Ramat Gan include a family member of Katlan, who is suspected to be managing the venue jointly. The CEO of that office was also arrested.

Israeli police raids FX frauds
The arrests in Ramat Gan, Israel, yesterday; Photo: Israeli police

A Criminal Ring of Investment Fraudsters

The suspects allegedly contacted victims globally through sales representatives, who presented themselves as traders of forex, cryptocurrencies, and other financial instruments. They even operated fraudulent call centers in Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Israel, and Kosovo.

Victims were lured in with promises of high returns. The fraudsters even presented falsified documents of the investment scams. However, in reality, the fraudsters never invested the collected proceeds from the investors. The fraudsters also transferred the victims' funds to bank accounts in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

The German authorities were involved as they were the first to identify five groups that have been operating since 2018 and linked to the larger ring. The German investigators also collected testimonials from hundreds of victims.

Hantec Markets executive; warning of Malaysia regulator; read today's news nuggets.

In a major crackdown against investment fraud, the cyber unit of Israel Police's Lahav 433 arrested six suspects and detained several others, who allegedly defrauded investors online and provided digital infrastructure to other criminal organizations. The scale of the scams was massive as it is suspected that they provided infrastructure for fraudulent offenses to hundreds of forex offices globally and siphoned off tens of millions of euros, according to Israeli news outlet Posta.

A Massive Bust of Israeli Police

The raids and arrests by the Israeli police followed an investigation by German authorities against the fraudulent ring.

According to Posta, Despite the six arrests, Jeremy Katlan, also known as Roni Hajjaj, who is allegedly the head of the criminal network, managed to escape abroad. The latest arrests by Israeli authorities from the forex office in Ramat Gan include a family member of Katlan, who is suspected to be managing the venue jointly. The CEO of that office was also arrested.

Israeli police raids FX frauds
The arrests in Ramat Gan, Israel, yesterday; Photo: Israeli police

A Criminal Ring of Investment Fraudsters

The suspects allegedly contacted victims globally through sales representatives, who presented themselves as traders of forex, cryptocurrencies, and other financial instruments. They even operated fraudulent call centers in Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Israel, and Kosovo.

Victims were lured in with promises of high returns. The fraudsters even presented falsified documents of the investment scams. However, in reality, the fraudsters never invested the collected proceeds from the investors. The fraudsters also transferred the victims' funds to bank accounts in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

The German authorities were involved as they were the first to identify five groups that have been operating since 2018 and linked to the larger ring. The German investigators also collected testimonials from hundreds of victims.

Hantec Markets executive; warning of Malaysia regulator; read today's news nuggets.

About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome
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Arnab is an electronics engineer-turned-financial editor. He entered the industry covering the cryptocurrency market for Finance Magnates and later expanded his reach to forex as well. He is passionate about the changing regulatory landscape on financial markets and keenly follows the disruptions in the industry with new-age technologies.

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