In a significant escalation of Turkey's crackdown on foreign intelligence operations, security sources confirmed the arrest of Liridon Rexhepi, a Kosovan national accused of serving as a key financial conduit for the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency.
Rexhepi was apprehended in Istanbul on August 30, 2024, following a meticulous surveillance operation that began when he entered the country just five days earlier.
The arrest was triggered by suspicious activities detected in Rexhepi's financial accounts, which revealed a series of deposits to Mossad operatives stationed in Turkey. These transactions, primarily executed through Western Union, raised red flags for Turkish authorities, who promptly placed Rexhepi under close observation.
Upon his detention, Rexhepi reportedly confessed to his role in facilitating these transfers, further implicating him in the broader network of Mossad activities within Turkey. His capture marks one of the most high-profile successes in Turkey's recent string of arrests targeting alleged Mossad agents, a campaign that has intensified over the past year.
Turkish police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that Rexhepi’s financial maneuvers were part of a larger operation involving the movement of funds from Eastern European countries, particularly Kosovo, to Mossad field agents in Turkey. These agents, in turn, have been using cryptocurrency to channel payments to their contacts in Syria, according to a report by the Daily Sabah.
Rexhepi's arrest underscores the increasingly complex nature of modern espionage, where traditional methods of money transfer are supplemented by the use of digital currencies and international financial networks. As Turkey continues to clamp down on foreign intelligence activities, the arrest of figures like Rexhepi highlights the ongoing, high-stakes struggle between national security and covert operations on Turkish soil.
* Arutz 7 contributed to this article.
