Turkish white collar fugitive wanted by United States apprehended by Yerevan police

Officers of the anti-organized crime department, in cooperation with agents from the national Interpol office of Armenia, have apprehended a Turkish national who was declared internationally wanted by the United States.

The fugitive, identified as Kevin (Kemal) Oksuz, was arrested on August 29, police said.

According to police, the fugitive had established a business in Armenia.

The man was declared wanted by the US on August 23 on 4 counts of fraud – namely submitting falsified documentation to the ethics committee of the US House of Representatives.

Police said the man was under law enforcement radars since the very first day of being declared wanted, and the Armenian Police Chief personally supervised the operations.

Oksuz chaired a non-profit NGO of Turkish-Americans and Eurasians. The goal of the NGO was to bring together Turks and Americans by organizing trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Back in 2013, Oksuz invited several US Congressmen, along with others, on a journey to Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Private trips of US Congressmen are regulated by the ethics committee as required by law, and sponsors of the trips are required to fill in relevant paperwork regarding sources of funds and spending.

Oksuz is suspected in falsifying the documents by submitting paperwork suggesting that his organization did not receive funds from any source, neither directly nor indirectly.

But turns out the NGO did not cover the entire spending and it did in fact receive funding, including from the Azerbaijani state-owned SOCAR oil company.

It also turned out that nine US Congressmen and 32 staff members received valuable gifts worth thousands of dollars.

Kemal Oksuz, who had changed his name to Kevin after acquiring US citizenship, has been placed under arrest.