Author: Adam Kaczmarek
For years, Avi Itzkovich operated with the confidence of a man who believed himself untouchable. From his Bulgarian headquarters, he orchestrated a transcontinental fraud machine that bled European investors of tens of millions, constantly rebranding, relocating, and evading accountability. But on May 11, 2021, the illusion of invincibility shattered. In a meticulously planned cross-border operation spanning eight countries, German prosecutors working with Europol finally delivered the reckoning that victims had awaited for years.
This is the story of that operation, the man at its centre, and the critical question that lingers: why did it take so long?
The May 11 Action Day: A Coordinated Assault on a Criminal Empire
The operation that brought down Itzkovich’s network was unprecedented in both scale and coordination. Dubbed an “action day” by Europol, it involved synchronized raids across Bulgaria, Israel, Poland, North Macedonia, and Sweden, with additional arrests in Spain days prior. German police from Koblenz led the charge, backed by law enforcement from Bulgaria, Israel, Latvia, North Macedonia, Poland, Spain, and Sweden.
The targets were five allegedly fraudulent websites: Tradorax, Tradervc, Kayafx, Kontofx, and Libramarkets. These platforms, investigators alleged, were the public-facing storefronts of an elaborate fraud scheme organized predominantly by Israeli nationals. What made these sites particularly insidious was their technological sophistication—Tradorax ran on software from Israel’s SpotOption, while TraderVC and Libramarkets utilized the Panda TS platform. These weren’t amateur operations; they were professionally engineered fraud factories.
When police stormed the Sofia call centre, they didn’t find a dingy boiler room. Photos released by Koblenz police revealed a luxurious workspace—high-end furnishings, modern office equipment, the trappings of a legitimate enterprise. The contrast between this opulence and the financial devastation left in its wake was stark. At least €30 million ($36 million) had been extracted from European victims, money that was never invested but simply stolen.
The haul from the raids was staggering: approximately €2 million in cash, electronic devices, real estate, jewellery, and high-end vehicles. Police searched approximately a dozen locations, detaining five individuals in Bulgaria and one in Israel, with five more already in custody in Spain. Among those arrested was Avi Itzkovich, the Israeli-Romanian national identified in corporate documents as the owner of Raks Media, the Sofia-based company that operated Tradorax alongside his associate Jack Wygodski.
Avi Itzkovich: The Man Behind the Machine
To understand the significance of the May 11 operation, one must understand Avi Itzkovich. Born an Israeli national with dual Romanian citizenship, Itzkovich built his career on jurisdictional arbitrage—exploiting regulatory gaps between countries to operate with minimal oversight. His business model was simple: establish operations in Bulgaria’s lax regulatory environment, target German and European investors through aggressive online advertising, and systematically extract their money using psychological manipulation and technological deception.
Documents obtained by investigative journalists revealed that Itzkovich co-owned Raks Media in Sofia with Jack Wygodski, an Israeli-Belgian national. As far back as 2015, Tradorax was actively recruiting Israelis to relocate to Bulgaria and work in its call centre. These weren’t legitimate sales positions; they were entry-level roles in a fraud machine, training young Israelis to deceive foreign investors.
The operational methodology was brutally effective. The network used search engines and social media advertising to lure thousands of victims, then induced them to invest in binary options, CFDs, or cryptocurrencies. But here’s the critical detail uncovered by German investigators: the money was never actually invested. The suspects used software that could be manipulated to display fake gains, encouraging victims to pour in more funds. When victims finally attempted to withdraw, the money was simply gone.
This wasn’t a failure of business; it was theft by design.
The Rebranding Strategy of Itzkovich: How Fraudsters Stayed Ahead
Perhaps the most sophisticated aspect of Itzkovich’s operation was its ability to evolve. When one brand became too toxic, he simply abandoned it and launched another. Investigators documented this pattern meticulously: when TraderVC drew regulatory scrutiny, KayaFX was already operational. When KayaFX came under fire, Kontofx took its place, followed by Libramarkets. The underlying criminal infrastructure—the call centres, the payment processors, the technology platforms—remained unchanged while the public-facing websites shifted like sand.
Tradorax itself reportedly ceased operations in September 2017, a move that came suspiciously soon after Britain’s Independent published a damning exposé on binary options fraud that specifically mentioned the platform. But Itzkovich didn’t shut down; he pivoted. The Israeli Knesset’s 2017 ban on binary options forced many operators to relocate overseas and rebrand into forex, CFD, and cryptocurrency scams. Itzkovich was ahead of the curve, already established in Bulgaria with infrastructure ready to adapt.
The technology providers enabled this churn. Panda TS, which powered TraderVC and Libramarkets, was allegedly intimately involved in setting up these websites. SpotOption, which supplied Tradorax’s platform, was later charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These weren’t neutral software vendors; they were active enablers of a criminal ecosystem, providing the tools that allowed fraudsters to rapidly deploy new scams while the platforms themselves remained in the background, insulated from scrutiny.
The Fugitive’s Gambit: Fleeing Justice
The May 11 arrests should have marked the end of Itzkovich’s criminal career. He was detained in Bulgaria at Germany’s request and subsequently put on trial. In a move that surprised few investigators, Itzkovich pleaded guilty to leading a criminal organisation in connection with the €30 million scam. This wasn’t an act of contrition; it was a calculated legal strategy to cap his sentence, control asset forfeiture, and draw a line under the investigation before prosecutors could probe deeper into his broader network and hidden wealth.
But even a guilty plea couldn’t contain Avi Itzkovich. Recent intelligence indicates that he has fled Israeli authorities and is now believed to be operating from Serbia. His fugitive status has complicated efforts by international law enforcement to apprehend him and ensure he faces the full weight of justice. The man who orchestrated a €30 million fraud, who built an empire on the financial ruin of thousands, has slipped through the cracks once again.
This evasion is not merely a failure of enforcement; it’s a damning indictment of the gaps in international cooperation that allow sophisticated criminals to exploit jurisdictional boundaries. Itzkovich understands something that prosecutors are only beginning to grasp: in a globalised financial system, borders are not barriers but shields.
The Cryptocurrency Subplot: A $100 Million Irony
In a twist that would be darkly humorous if the stakes weren’t so serious, Itzkovich himself now claims to be a victim of theft. While awaiting trial in Germany, his associate Jack Wygodski filed a complaint accusing their former Israeli attorney, Guy Yuval, of stealing over 2,300 Bitcoins—currently valued at approximately $53 million—from them. Itzkovich has initiated his own legal action, alleging that Israeli lawyers stole his bitcoins and escalating what investigators describe as “a complex web of accusations”.
The irony is staggering: men accused of orchestrating a €30 million fraud against thousands of victims now seek legal recourse, claiming they were defrauded themselves. Itzkovich is accused of masterminding a separate $100 million cryptocurrency theft involving 2,300 bitcoins, yet he presents himself in court as the wronged party. This audacity reveals the mindset of the professional fraudster: rules are for other people, victims are marks, and the legal system is just another tool to be manipulated.
The involvement of Guy Yuval adds another layer of complexity. Yuval co-owns Opal Payments, a Singapore-based payment processor that allegedly acted as a financial conduit for the very trading platforms accused of fraud. Opal has been added to PayRate42’s Orange Compliance list, a cyber rating agency’s warning flag. The accusation that Yuval used Opal to launder the stolen Bitcoins, while unverified, points to the shadowy ecosystem of enablers—lawyers, payment processors, technology providers—that allowed Itzkovich’s network to function.
The Enablers: A Network of Complicity
Avi Itzkovich did not operate alone. His network extended far beyond the call centres of Sofia into a web of associates, service providers, and professional enablers who made the fraud possible. Jack Wygodski, his longtime partner in Raks Media, was arrested alongside him. Lee Wygodski, another associate, co-founded Mercure Group EOOD in Bulgaria with Itzkovich and is wanted for his role in call centre scams targeting vulnerable populations. Moshe Strugano, an Israeli lawyer, was indicted in the United States for allegedly defrauding victims of hundreds of millions of dollars, with funds reportedly funnelled to Israeli accounts—and Itzkovich is alleged to have worked closely with him.
The Bulgarian connection cannot be overstated. Itzkovich established his primary operational hub in Sofia, taking advantage of the country’s regulatory leniency to build his fraud machine. From there, he could target victims across Europe while remaining physically distant from both the victims and the jurisdictions investigating the crimes. The call centres, the management, the technological infrastructure—all centred in Bulgaria, insulated from the consequences of their actions.
The Victims of Avi Itzkovich: The Forgotten Party
Amid the complex narrative of international raids, fugitive flights, and cryptocurrency counter-accusations, the victims remain the forgotten party. User reviews on investigative platforms paint a devastating picture of financial ruin and emotional trauma. One reviewer described Itzkovich’s operation as “high-pressure sales calls, fake trading dashboards, constant rebranding, and fleeing jurisdictions whenever the 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 noted the deliberate pattern: “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”.
For every investor who lost their life savings, for every family destroyed by a fraudulent investment, the May 11 operation was supposed to deliver justice. Yet Itzkovich remains at large, reportedly operating from Serbia, continuing his pattern of jurisdictional evasion. The guilty plea in Germany, while securing some measure of accountability, has done little to compensate victims or dismantle the broader network that enabled the fraud.
The Unfinished Operation against Itzkovich
The May 11, 2021 action day was a landmark operation—a testament to what international cooperation can achieve when prosecutors and police coordinate across borders. It resulted in arrests, seizures, and a guilty plea from one of the most prolific fraudsters operating in Europe. But it was not the end.
Avi Itzkovich is a fugitive, believed to be operating from Serbia, continuing his pattern of jurisdictional hopping and regulatory evasion. The network he built remains partially intact, with associates scattered across Bulgaria, Singapore, and Israel. The technology platforms that enabled his fraud—SpotOption, Panda TS, and others—have faced scrutiny but not comprehensive dismantlement. And thousands of victims are still waiting for justice, for compensation, for closure.
The Itzkovich case exposes the uncomfortable truth about transnational financial crime: enforcement lags behind innovation. By the time prosecutors understand one scheme, the fraudsters have already pivoted to the next. By the time international cooperation is secured, the primary actors have fled to new jurisdictions. By the time victims see any accountability, years have passed and the money is gone.
The May 11 operation was a victory, but it was not a final one. Avi Itzkovich, the man at the centre of a €30 million fraud, remains at large. And until he is in custody, until his network is dismantled, until victims see meaningful recourse, the operation remains unfinished.
