Author:Kristina Tadarova
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For years, Avi Itzcovich operated with the kind of impunity that most criminals only dream about. The Israeli-Romanian national, now in his late 30s, built a cross-border fraud machine that stretched from Sofia to Singapore, from binary options to cryptocurrencies. When authorities finally caught up with him in October 2022, the damage had already been done: an estimated €30 million ($36 million) in confirmed losses, thousands of victims scattered across Europe, and a network of shell companies, fake trading platforms, and compromised lawyers that investigators are still untangling.
But here is the uncomfortable question that no one wants to ask: How did Avi Itzcovich operate for nearly a decade without meaningful intervention? And why did it take an international manhunt, not proactive regulation, to stop him?
Connected People and Unanswered Questions
Fraudulent Trading Platforms
Tradorax, Tradologic, Tradervc, Kayafx, Kontofx, Libramarkets, UProFX, InstaFX
Front Companies
Raks Media EOOD (later Mercure Group EOOD), Sofia, Bulgaria
Key Associates
Jack (Jacques Henri) Wygodski, Maor Ben-Zvi, Daniel Koen, Jonathan Grinfeld, Or Tal Shlomei, Erez Legerbaum, Tal Kerzfeld, Moran Kerimov, Michael Zalk, Eden Sror, Daniel Natan Huluban Mandl, Avraham Aviv Hileli, Dror Geht
Payment Processors
Opal Payments (Singapore), co-run by Israeli lawyer Guy Yuval
Legal Facilitators
Moshe Strugano (indicted in US for laundering hundreds of millions), Lee Wygodski (fugitive)
The Sofia Boiler Room – Where Promises Were Manufactured and Money Disappeared
The operational heart of Itzcovich’s empire was not in Tel Aviv or Berlin. It was in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the unassuming offices of Raks Media EOOD, a company he co-founded in January 2014 with Jack Wygodski. On paper, it was a legitimate tech firm. In reality, it was a fraud factory. As early as 2015, Tradorax was actively recruiting Israelis to relocate to Sofia, promising them careers in high-tech while training them to become high-pressure salespeople.
Bulgaria was not a random choice. Itzcovich deliberately selected a jurisdiction with weak financial oversight, low operational costs, and a large pool of English-speaking workers. This allowed him to run a 24/7 call centre operation while staying just outside the reach of Western European regulators. The strategy worked for eight years.
The sales model was brutally simple. Aggressive advertising on social media and search engines pulled in thousands of potential victims. Once a mark expressed interest in binary options, CFDs, or cryptocurrency trading, they were handed to the Sofia boiler room. There, trained operators used manipulative software to fabricate trading gains. Victims saw fake profits on their dashboards, were encouraged to deposit more, and then, when they tried to withdraw, were met with silence, excuses, or outright hostility. The money was never invested. It was simply stolen.
The DMCA Scam: How Itzcovich Abused Copyright Law to Erase His Criminal Record
One of the most insidious tactics attributed to Itzcovich’s network is largely unknown outside investigative circles. His team allegedly filed thousands of fraudulent DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notices against journalists, due diligence websites, and victim advocacy groups. When someone published an exposé on Tradorax, KayaFX, or any of his other platforms, Itzcovich’s associates did not bother refuting the claims. They simply tried to erase them.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act allows copyright holders to request removal of infringing content from websites and search engines. Itzcovich allegedly filed false copyright claims against critical articles, exploiting the automated systems of Google and hosting platforms. Negative search results disappeared. Warnings were scrubbed. And new victims, seeing only polished, legitimate-looking websites, fell into the trap.
This systematic abuse of legal process is not just a digital rights violation. It is a direct attack on investor protection. For every warning that was successfully removed, a new potential investor was left blind. Itzcovich did not just steal money. He stole information. He stole the ability of future victims to make informed decisions.
The Revolving Door of Fraudulent Brands: Tradorax, KayaFX, KontoFX, Libramarkets
Itzcovich’s operational genius, if such a term can be applied to a criminal, was his ability to adapt. When one brand became too toxic, he simply discarded it and launched another. As Koblenz prosecutors detailed, when the heat on TraderVC became too intense, KayaFX was already operational. When KayaFX drew scrutiny, Kontofx took its place. Then Libramarkets. Then UProFX. Then InstaFX.
This strategy of planned obsolescence allowed the underlying criminal infrastructure – the call centres, payment processors, and technology platforms – to continue operating without interruption. The platforms themselves, including the Israeli company Panda TS which powered TraderVC and Libramarkets, were allegedly complicit, providing the software and support that enabled rapid deployment of new scam websites.
Israel banned binary options in 2017. It was a landmark decision, hailed by consumer protection advocates worldwide. But Itzcovich and his ilk did not go out of business. They relocated. They rebranded. They pivoted into forex, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies – sectors that remained largely unregulated.
Platform
Approximate Active Period
Status
Tradorax
2015–2017
Ceased operations after Independent exposé
Tradologic
2016–2018
Shut down amid regulatory pressure
KayaFX
2018–2020
Subject of Koblenz charges
KontoFX
2019–2021
Subject of Koblenz charges
Libramarkets
2020–2022
Active until October 2022 arrests
The Bitcoin Civil War: 2,300 BTC and a Legal Circus
The most absurd twist in this story occurred far from the criminal courts. In October 2022, Itzcovich’s own associate Jack Wygodski filed a lawsuit in Tel Aviv: lawyers Guy Yuval and Uri Arad allegedly stole 2,300 Bitcoins from him – then worth approximately 105 million euros. Wygodski, himself a fugitive from German arrest warrants, claimed the cryptocurrency came from legitimate businesses.
The calculation was cynical but effective. By pursuing civil litigation, Wygodski and Itzcovich shifted public attention away from the fraud allegations and toward a “thief-robbed-from-thief” narrative. The German justice system never received complete information about the Bitcoin holdings – which were almost certainly proceeds from the Tradorax scams.
Lawyer Yuval responded with a remarkable statement: Wygodski was an “international criminal” whom he had reported to authorities himself. But why was this report only made after the law firm gained access to the cryptocurrency wallets? That question remains unanswered.
The Network of Enablers: Who’s Still Walking Free
Itzcovich did not act alone. Bulgarian corporate records list a web of associates who have never been prosecuted. Alongside Itzcovich and Wygodski, the following individuals were listed as managers of Mercure Group EOOD: Maor Ben-Zvi, Daniel Koen, Jonathan Grinfeld, Or Tal Shlomei, Erez Legerbaum, Tal Kerzfeld, Moran Kerimov, Michael Zalk, Eden Sror, and Avraham Aviv Hileli.
Not a single one of these names has faced independent criminal proceedings in Germany or Bulgaria. The Israeli justice system has shown virtually no interest in prosecuting binary options perpetrators despite the 2017 ban.
Beyond the immediate circle, the network extends to facilitators like Moshe Strugano and Guy Yuval, whose Opal Payments became part of the financial pipeline supporting the operation.
Why Itzcovich Can Start a New Project Tomorrow
The decisive question is not whether Itzcovich will commit fraud again, but when. Several factors enable continued impunity: seized assets covered only a fraction of the proceeds; cryptocurrencies remain difficult to trace without court orders; and former call centre structures can be recreated quickly under new brands.
The Koblenz verdict sentenced Itzcovich to four years in prison. A European arrest warrant exists. Yet the broader infrastructure and many associated individuals remain outside meaningful legal scrutiny.
The Uncomfortable Truth: A Systemic Failure
The story of Avi Itzcovich is not a closed chapter. It is a blueprint. Following Israel’s 2017 ban on binary options, operators did not disappear. They evolved. They moved into forex, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies. They relocated to jurisdictions with weaker oversight. They exploited the same regulatory gaps that Itzcovich used for years.
The international operation that led to Avi Itzcovich’s arrest was a significant victory. But it was a battle, not the war. The infrastructure of fraud he helped build – the networks of enablers, the technology providers, the money launderers – remains resilient.
What Investors Need to Know
Any platform with connections to Sofia, former Raks Media employees, or the names Itzcovich and Wygodski should be examined with extreme caution.
The €30 million damage assessment cited by investigators may represent only a portion of total losses. The case illustrates how rapidly fraudulent trading brands can be created, abandoned, and replaced while the underlying infrastructure remains unchanged.
The question is not if a new project linked to this methodology will emerge. The question is when, and under what new, legitimate-sounding name.
Eternal vigilance is the only defence.
