Turkiye arrested a Mossad agent from Kosovo last week, according to security sources. The Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) arrested Kosovan citizen Liridin Rexhepi, accusing him of being a “financier for Israeli intelligence,” reported the Times of Israel. He was identified as the head of Mossad’s financial network in Turkiye.
MIT had been tracking Rexhepi’s activities, including suspicious transactions in his accounts, since his entry into Turkiye on 25 August. He was detained on 30 August by MIT and Istanbul Police. During interrogation, he confessed to making financial transfers through Western Union to Mossad operatives in Turkiye.
Moreover, MIT alleges that Rexhepi oversaw Mossad’s financial network in Turkiye, facilitating payments to informants engaged in activities such as filming with drones, conducting psychological operations against Palestinian politicians, and gathering intelligence on the situation in Syria.
“As a result of the money tracking, it was determined that the operatives in Turkiye transferred the money coming from Kosovo to their subordinates in Syria via Western Union,” said MIT. “It was also determined that operatives in Turkiye were paying for their resources in Syria using crypto money.”
Turkish security forces have frequently arrested suspected Israeli informants and operational networks in recent years. As relations between the two countries have deteriorated following Israel’s 2023 invasion of Gaza, Ankara has intensified its efforts to monitor and counter Israeli intelligence activities.