Abstract:Turkish authorities have arrested Andreas Szakacs, the co-founder of OmegaPro, one of the world’s largest and most infamous online multi-level marketing (MLM) scams. Szakacs, who had been on the run since November 2022, was apprehended after a years-long international manhunt. His arrest marks a pivotal moment in the pursuit of justice for the millions of investors defrauded by the OmegaPro scam.
Turkish authorities have arrested Andreas Szakacs, the co-founder of OmegaPro, one of the worlds largest and most infamous online multi-level marketing (MLM) scams. Szakacs, who had been on the run since November 2022, was apprehended after a years-long international manhunt. His arrest marks a pivotal moment in the pursuit of justice for the millions of investors defrauded by the OmegaPro scam.
What Was OmegaPro?
On WikiFX, OmegaPro is considered a Ponzi scheme. WikiFX has given this broker a very low score. OmegaPro presented itself as a forex trading platform, enticing investors with the promise of astronomical returns. The company claimed that investors could achieve a 300% return on their investment within 16 months. The scheme was heavily promoted by retired football stars and self-proclaimed business gurus, lending an air of legitimacy to the operation.
Investors could join the scheme with as little as $100, while some invested as much as $50,000, lured by the potential for massive profits. However, OmegaPro was nothing more than a sophisticated Ponzi scheme. The companys supposed forex trading activities were a facade, and the promised returns were paid out using the funds of new investors.
As pressure from regulators and law enforcement intensified, OmegaPro rebranded itself as Go Global. However, this name change did little to disguise the true nature of the operation. The company continued to deceive investors, ultimately collapsing in November 2022.
The Scam Unraveled
OmegaPro was launched in 2019 and quickly expanded its reach globally. Operating out of Dubai, the company managed to defraud investors of over $100 billion in just three years. Despite its claims of legitimacy, OmegaPro began to attract the attention of regulators and law enforcement agencies around the world.
By 2020, French authorities had blacklisted two websites associated with OmegaPro for offering unauthorized forex trading services. This marked the beginning of a series of legal actions against the company. Class action criminal proceedings are currently underway in France, and other countries have since launched their own investigations.
The first arrests related to the OmegaPro scam occurred in April 2022 in the Congo. By August, regulators in Myanmar had launched their own investigations. The collapse of OmegaPro in November 2022 forced Szakacs and his co-founders, Mike Sims and Dilawar Singh, to go underground.
In March 2023, Juan Carlos Reynoso, a key executive responsible for managing OmegaPro‘s operations in Latin America, was arrested in Mexico. Reynoso, a Peruvian citizen, played a significant role in the company’s global operations.
In November 2023, an initiative called Omegapro Action Nigeria was launched in an attempt to recover funds for scammed Nigerian investors. However, just two days later, a petition was started on Change.org, calling on the Sheikh of Dubai to investigate OmegaPro and its co-founders, who were believed to have fled to Dubai following the companys collapse.
A Web of Deception: The Background of Key OmegaPro Members
The individuals behind OmegaPro were no strangers to fraudulent schemes. Andreas Szakacs, Mike Sims, and Dilawar Singh had all been involved in previous scams. For example, Paulo Tuynman, a senior executive at OmegaPro, had a history with the Omnia Project scam. Another executive, Christopher Hamilton, was linked to the notorious OneCoin crypto scam, one of the largest cryptocurrency frauds in history.
Nader Poordeljo, another associate of OmegaPro, was known for his connection to Jordan Belfort, the infamous “Wolf of Wall Street.” These associations highlight the deep-seated connections between OmegaPro and other fraudulent schemes.
Despite the arrest of Szakacs, many of the key figures behind OmegaPro remain at large. Dubai, where several of these individuals are believed to reside, has yet to take significant action against them. This lack of accountability raises concerns about the protection of investors and the potential for similar scams to emerge in the future.
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