Turkey arrests alleged Mossad operative running money network
Turkey has detained an individual accused of funding the Israeli intelligence service Mossad’s activities in Syria.
ANKARA — Turkish authorities said Tuesday they had detained a Kosovan national alleged to have been running a money network in Turkey for Israel's spy agency Mossad.
The man, identified as Liridon Rexhepi, was arrested in Istanbul on Friday, Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT reported. He had been under surveillance since Aug. 25, when he entered Turkey.
Rexhepi is accused of securing and transferring funds from Eastern European countries for Mossad and transferring them both to field operatives in Turkey and to the organization’s structure in Syria, according to TRT and other Turkish media outlets.
The field operatives in Turkey to whom the suspect transferred funds reportedly gathered intelligence through drone surveillance, conducted psychological operations against Palestinian politicians and collected information on the Syrian front.
Rexhepi used both Western Union and cryptocurrencies to transfer funds coming through Kosovo to other Mossad operatives, according to TRT.
In a video circulated widely on social media, Turkish counterterrorism police are seen taking Rexhepi and another suspect in for a medical examination. The Turkish authorities didn’t reveal how many others were arrested along with the suspect.
Liridon Rexhepi, i cili ishte i vendosur të menaxhonte rrjetin e parave të MOSSAD-it në Türkiye u arrestua nga Organizata Kombëtare të Inteligjencës së Türkiyes (MIT) dhe dega e Departamentit të Policisë së Istanbulit. pic.twitter.com/KjSdInHdMk
— TRT Balkan AL (@TRTBalkanAL) September 3, 2024
In questioning by Istanbul police, the suspect acknowledged that he made the money transfers, TRT said, but it remains unclear whether he admitted to making them for spying activities.
The bust is Turkey's latest against the Israeli spy agency since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in October. Turkish authorities arrested 33 people in January suspected of spying for Israel.
