Turkish authorities have arrested Liridon Rexhepi, reportedly the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency’s financial network in Turkey, according to state media.
Istanbul police detained Rexhepi on August 30 on allegations of transferring money on behalf of Mossad during an operation, Xinhua news agency reported. After Rexhepi admitted to the charges in a court hearing, state-run Anadolu Agency confirmed his formal arrest.
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The Turkish intelligence agency MIT had been tracking Rexhepi since his arrival in Turkey on August 25. MIT’s investigation uncovered that Rexhepi was responsible for managing Mossad’s financial operations, including the repeated transfer of significant sums of money via Western Union to field agents in Turkey.
Further investigation revealed that Rexhepi also conducted drone surveillance and psychological operations targeting Palestinian politicians. Additionally, MIT discovered that Mossad was funneling funds to its agents in Turkey from Kosovo and other Eastern European countries, which were then transferred to sources in Syria using Western Union and cryptocurrency.
Since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on October 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a vocal critic of Israel, condemning its actions and praising Hamas as a liberation group. In response, Turkish authorities have detained numerous individuals, including private investigators, for allegedly gathering data on Palestinians residing in Turkey for Israeli intelligence.
In January, Turkey arrested 33 people suspected of spying for Israel during Operation Mole. Subsequent arrests included seven individuals in February and another nine in March and April, all accused of providing information to Mossad.
Israel has not yet commented on the recent arrests. Tensions between Turkey and Israel have escalated since Hamas’s invasion, leading Turkey to halt trade with Israel and seek to join South Africa’s lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. Erdogan has compared Israel to Nazi Germany and criticized Western nations for supporting the Jewish state.
Turkey and Israel had re-established diplomatic relations in 2022 by reappointing ambassadors, but those ties have since deteriorated following recent conflicts.
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