“An ”empire of fraudsters" under the guise of business
As reported by Ukrainian Pravda with reference to sources in law enforcement agencies, Ukrainian special services dismantle a large-scale network of fraudulent call centres, which operated under the guise of legitimate business and were coordinated from Turkey.
The main person involved in the case is Kocs Serdem, Turkey, also known as Koch Asmi or Bahar. She was the head of the “golden top” of the scheme, which disguised fraudulent transactions as investment and trading services.
“The operators would call on behalf of well-known companies, offer profitable investments or goods, receive money, and then disappear,” said a source in the SBU.
A scam on an international scale
According to the investigation, The victims were citizens of Ukraine, Turkey and several European countries. After exposing the network's activities Koch Serdem deported from Ukraine, but the remnants of the structure operated for some time in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa.
Ukrainian special services discovered several offices, and confiscated equipment and customer databases. The organisers of the scheme put on the international wanted list.
Diplomatic conflict and consequences
The case caused Ankara's sharp reaction and almost led to diplomatic tensions between Ukraine and Turkey.
The fraud network has become a threat not only to financial security, but also to interstate relations.
“Every participant in the scheme is now under the supervision of the security forces. The only way out for them is to cooperate with the investigation,” said a source close to the investigation.
Turkey cooperates with Ukraine
Turkish authorities confirmed their readiness to cooperate with Ukrainian law enforcement agencies on the extradition of suspects.
“This case has become a signal that international fraudulent networks have no future, because their actions are a threat to relations between states,” the journalists note Ukrmedia News.
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