Turkey was one of the countries that decided to pull the plug on cryptocurrencies. The country went on to suggest that the country would soon ban any sort of payments in crypto. A few days after this announcement, a prominent Turkish cryptocurrency exchange, Thodex was called out by its users for looting them for over hundreds of millions of dollars. Just as this investigation was underway, the Turkish law enforcement nabbed over 78 people involved in the case.
Anadolu, a Turkish newspaper announced that the prosecutors involved in the case had bagged over 78 arrest warrants. However, only 62 were detained by the Turkish police.
Turkey Police Bag 78 Arrest Warrants
As per the report, it was noted that the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had issued warrants for over 78 individuals that were in contact with the Thodex. Furthermore, the Anti-Cyber Crimes Branch Directorate went on to nab over 62 suspects throughout 8 provinces in Istanbul.
Along with the 62 people that were detained, the Turkey police captured several documents as well as digital materials pertaining to the case.
While the law enforcement has bagged these many suspects, the main person involved in the case, Fatih Faruk Ozer, the founder of the crypto exchange was still missing. Reports suggest that the founder had fled to Albania through a commercial flight from Istanbul. However, a complaint was filed against the CEO/founder Ozer over “aggravated fraud” by a Turkish lawyer, Abdullah Usame Ceran.
Furthermore, it was found that the cryptocurrency exchange’s website was still inactive, depriving users of the right to access their accounts and withdraw funds.
As Turkey prepares to impose a ban on crypto, the Thodex incident seems to have stirred up the country. However, Cemil Ertem, the senior economic adviser to the President of Turkey said,
“Turkey will undoubtedly carry out a regulation that’s in line with its economy but also by following global developments.”