Author: Adam Kaczmarek
On May 11, 2021, Europol coordinated one of the largest cross-border operations against Israeli-run investment fraud in European history. Eight countries—Germany, Bulgaria, Israel, Latvia, North Macedonia, Poland, Spain, and Sweden—moved in synchronised raids against a network of fraudulent trading platforms: Tradorax, Tradervc, Kayafx, Kontofx, and Libramarkets.
When Bulgarian police stormed the Sofia call centre serving as operational headquarters, they found no dingy boiler room. Photographs released by Koblenz police revealed a luxurious workspace with high-end furnishings—a stage set for deception where young operatives, recruited from Israel with promises of high-tech careers, dialled numbers across Europe promising financial freedom while delivering only ruin.
The haul was staggering: approximately €2 million in cash, electronic devices, real estate, jewellery, and luxury vehicles. Europol estimated European investor losses at €30 million—a figure investigators believe is just the tip of the iceberg.
Among those arrested was Avi Itzkovich, an Israeli-Romanian national whose name had circulated in investigative circles for years.
Who Is Avi Itzkovich?
Itzkovich, now in his early fifties, spent over a decade constructing a transnational fraud network exploiting regulatory gaps across Europe. With long-time partner Jack Wygodski, an Israeli-Belgian national, he established Raks Media in Sofia as operational headquarters. Corporate records show that as far back as 2015, Tradorax actively recruited Israelis to relocate to Bulgaria and work in its call centre—training them to defraud foreign investors while maintaining the fiction of legitimate employment.
What distinguishes Itzkovich from run-of-the-mill fraudsters is his deliberately minimal digital footprint. Open-source intelligence reveals an almost complete absence of verifiable public profiles. For an individual controlling companies, managing call centres, and moving millions across borders, this absence signals a calculated effort to evade scrutiny and obscure his network.
The Fraud Machine of Itzkovich: How It Worked
Itzkovich’s portfolio reads like a case study in predatory fintech. Tradorax (launched 2013) operated as a binary options platform accused of manipulating trades and systematically defrauding clients. When regulatory pressure mounted, he simply pivoted—KayaFX, then Kontofx, then Libramarkets emerged, each a carbon copy using the same Bulgarian call centres and manipulated software.
German prosecutors documented the pattern meticulously: when TraderVC fell under scrutiny, KayaFX was already operational. When KayaFX drew fire, Kontofx took its place. The underlying criminal infrastructure remained unchanged while public-facing websites shifted like sand.
The technology enabling this fraud came from Israeli platforms SpotOption (later charged by the US SEC) and Panda TS. These weren’t neutral vendors—they were active enablers, providing tools to rapidly deploy new scams while remaining insulated from scrutiny.
According to Europol, the network lured thousands through social media and search engine advertising. Victims were induced to invest in binary options, CFDs, or cryptocurrencies through high-pressure sales calls. But as German prosecutors documented, the money was never invested—it was simply stolen. Software manipulated to show fabricated gains encouraged victims to pour in more. When withdrawal attempts came, victims encountered endless obstacles: new forms, minimum trading volumes, technical glitches, then silence.
One German victim lost approximately €530,000 believing the promises of an operative using the alias Kevin Becks—one of many false identities employed by the network.
The Itzkovich Financial Network: Opal Payments and the Bitcoin Battle
A critical node in Itzkovich’s infrastructure was Opal Payments, a Singapore-based payment processor co-managed by Israeli lawyer Guy Yuval. This entity allegedly facilitated transactions for fraudulent platforms, raising red flags about industrial-scale money laundering.
The Opal connection proved explosive when, in a complaint filed in Germany, Itzkovich’s own partner Jack Wygodski accused Yuval of stealing over 2,300 Bitcoins—then valued at approximately $53 million. Wygodski alleged Yuval used Opal to launder the stolen cryptocurrency.
Even more bizarre: while awaiting trial, Itzkovich initiated a Tel Aviv lawsuit accusing his former lawyers, Yuval and Kfir Golan, of stealing 2,300 Bitcoins from him—then worth $100 million. The irony escaped no one: a man accused of masterminding a €30 million fraud sought legal protection claiming he was defrauded. The Bitcoins likely represented proceeds from the very schemes for which he was prosecuted.
Opal has since been added to PayRate42’s Orange Compliance list, with website traffic reaching zero by December 2023.
The Guilty Plea That Changed Nothing: Avi Itzkovich’s calculated move
In Germany, Itzkovich and Wygodski faced charges of leading a criminal organisation and systematic investor fraud in connection with the “GetFinancial” network. Both pleaded guilty.
Those familiar with such proceedings recognised the plea for what it was—a calculated legal strategy to cap sentences, control asset forfeiture, and prevent prosecutors from digging deeper into broader networks and hidden wealth. By pleading guilty, Itzkovich aimed to draw a line under the investigation.
But today, despite that guilty plea, Avi Itzkovich is a fugitive.
Where Is Avi Itzkovich Now?
Intelligence reports indicate Itzkovich has fled Israeli authorities and is believed to be operating from Serbia. His partner Wygodski also remains at large, reportedly moving through Europe with forged documents.
The man who spent years exploiting regulatory gaps to steal millions now exploits those same gaps to avoid his sentence. Serbia offers proximity to his former Bulgarian hubs while potentially providing a more hospitable environment for a fugitive avoiding European arrest warrants.
There are indications his pattern may be continuing from this new base. This demonstrates intent—not ignorance, but global exploitation.
The Network That Wasn’t Dismantled
The May 11 raids were celebrated as a victory. Eight countries coordinated. Millions were seized. A guilty plea was obtained.
But Itzkovich’s network wasn’t fully dismantled. Bulgarian corporate records show entities like Mercure Group EOOD continue to exist, with managers whose activities remain opaque. Technology platforms faced scrutiny but not shutdown. Payment processors like Opal continued operations, raising questions about how many other fraud networks they serve.
Most critically, the call centre model Itzkovich perfected didn’t die with his arrest. Across Eastern Europe, similar operations continue, run by individuals who learned from his methods, trained in his call centres, and absorbed his philosophy. The fraud simply rebranded again.
One question haunts this case: why did Israeli authorities take so long to act? For years, the binary options industry operated openly in Israel, employing thousands and allegedly stealing billions. While the Knesset banned binary options sales from within Israel in 2017, operatives simply moved overseas and continued defrauding foreign investors.
European prosecutors note a troubling pattern: repeatedly, investigations reveal Israeli service providers or fraud proceeds ending up in Israeli accounts. Yet Israeli prosecutions have been virtually nonexistent. Despite the industry employing thousands and allegedly stealing billions, almost no one has been indicted by Israeli authorities.
Voices from the Ruins
While investigators traced money and lawyers argued over Bitcoin, victims pieced together shattered finances. On consumer forums, their stories accumulate like testimony.
One victim wrote: “High-pressure sales calls, fake trading dashboards, constant rebranding, fleeing jurisdictions whenever heat turned up. The sheer audacity of creating platform after platform is shocking, but what’s worse is how many victims were left in financial ruin.”
Another: “Itzkovich’s go-to formula? Set up a shady platform, market it with impossible returns, bleed investors dry, then vanish. Tradorax, KayaFX, KontoFX—each a carbon copy of the same deception. These weren’t business failures. They were deliberate cash grabs.”
Losses ranged from thousands to life savings wiped out. Unauthorised charges, frozen accounts, dead customer service lines. The European Funds Recovery Initiative launched specific campaigns for KayaFX victims, acknowledging the scale of harm.
Risk Assessment: how Avi Itzkovich passes AML checks?
From an AML perspective, Itzkovich’s operations present catalogue of high-level risks: offshore entities in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Singapore; cryptocurrency transactions obscuring money trails; lack of financial transparency; complete regulatory non-compliance.
Financial institutions engaging with Itzkovich or associated entities risk complicity in money laundering, potentially leading to catastrophic regulatory penalties and reputational collapse.
Reputational risks are absolute. Ties to fraud erode trust, trigger regulatory audits, fuel public backlash. The media narrative—cemented by outlets from Britain’s Independent to The Times of Israel—paints Itzkovich as orchestrator of transnational fraud, creating a permanent shadow over his name and all connected to it.
The Fugitive’s Gambit
The story of Avi Itzkovich is a warning about fraud’s persistence in an interconnected world, about regulatory gaps allowing criminals to operate across borders, and about the human cost of those gaps.
For thousands of Europeans who lost money to his platforms, the May 11 raids brought hope justice might arrive. For Itzkovich, they brought arrest, prosecution, and conviction. But for the broader fraud ecosystem he helped create, they brought only temporary disruption.
As long as jurisdictions with lax oversight exist, payment processors willing to move money without questions, and technology platforms indifferent to how their software is used, there will be another Avi Itzkovich.The question is not whether the pattern will repeat. It is whether regulators, law enforcement, and investors will learn the lessons this case so clearly teaches. Based on the evidence so far—with Itzkovich reportedly operating from Serbia while his victims wait—the answer remains disturbingly uncertain.
Avi Itzkovich built an empire on his victims’ ruins. He pleaded guilty to his crimes. And today, he walks free.
