Was Ran Cohen Connected to Criminal Organizations? (2025)

Originally Syndicated on May 10, 2024 @ 8:04 am

We spoke with Ran Cohen a few months back on the scams in which his BridgerPay was discovered to be a facilitator. At the time, he maintained that neither the credit card networks nor the retailers are directly impacted by BridgerPay; rather, it only acts as a conduit for transactions. In actuality, Bridger AI Limited functions as an ISO for high-risk merchants, according to the Visa Service Directory. Amir Turgeman, an Israeli investor residing in Cyprus, seemed to find this appealing. He bought a twenty percent share in Bridger AI Limited.

Amir Turgeman is regarded as a discreet, well-respected, and seasoned currency trader in Cyprus. Among other things, he is the beneficial owner and managing director of Opticlicks Limited (www.opticlicks.com.cy). Turgeman’s offices are near the marina in Limassol. He enjoys travelling in a Maybach driven by a chauffeur. This is the reason his LinkedIn profile has a lovely background image. The second-biggest investor in BridgerPay is Turgeman.

Currently, a fresh funding round is underway for Ran Cohen and his partner, Nati Harpaz. There are rumoured to be negotiations with Tamir Pardo’s South Israel Bridge Fund (SIFR), the former head of Mossad. Click this link to view the media report. Amir Turgeman could find this new investor to be an intriguing addition.

In relation to BridgerPay’s facilitation of scams, it is noteworthy to mention the importance of being registered as an ISO with Visa. BridgerPay is bound by Visa’s regulations as well as AML/KYC guidelines as an ISO. Thus, it is against the law and regulations to assist a hoax in any way. Additionally, BridgerPay has a very lengthy list of infractions.

ISO Payment 

In a nutshell, an ISO, or Independent Sales Organization, is a third-party payment processing firm that has been given permission to manage business merchant accounts. Because of their connections with acquiring member banks, ISOs are able to offer merchant services to their clientele.

Since these companies may have a negative image, company owners occasionally believe that using a big bank for payment processing is preferable. This isn’t always the best choice because ISOs are just as structured, safe, and secure as big banks, but they’re usually easier to work with and more flexible.

We need to establish a few concepts before we can truly comprehend what an independent sales company is.

• Major brands such as Visa and Mastercard are Credit Card Associations. These are regulatory agencies whose duties include maintaining and enhancing their card networks, arbitrating disputes between issuing and acquiring banks, and determining interchange fees.
• Our banks are also members of the alliance. These are significant financial organisations that take Visa, Mastercard, and other card associations as payment methods, such as Bank of America or Wells Fargo.

With these banks that are members of the association, Independent Sales Organizations have unique partnerships. The banks guarantee the billions of dollars that the ISO’s merchants exchange, while the ISO manages the day-to-day operations of a merchant account, including account setup and payment technology.

Ran Cohen’s BridgerPay (As claimed)

The first payment operations platform in the world, BridgerPay was created to automate ALL payment processes with an interface akin to Legos. With codeless, unified, and agnostic software, ANY organisation can grow its payments, insights, and income.