6 suspects in the Thodex cryptocurrency exchange scam were jailed late yesterday. Interpol are still chasing the CEO and founder, Faruk Fatih Ozer.
According to a recently published Reuters article, six people were formally arrested and sent to jail pending trial. Among the six were senior company employees of the exchange and Ozer’s brother and sister.
More than 80 people were arrested over the past week as investigations continue. Most of these have since been released, and some have been released on “judicial control measures”.
The main basis of the accusations appears to be that many users are saying that Thodex blocked their accounts and didn’t allow them to withdraw their assets.
The Thodex exchange is currently closed for a few days due to what it called a “sale process”. The exchange would usually trade hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency trades on a normal day.
Interpol have issued a red notice for the Thodex CEO Ozer, and Turkey has sent units to four countries, including Albania, where Ozer was last seen.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a televised interview:
“When he is caught with the red notice, we have extradition agreements with a large part of these countries. God willing he will be caught and he will be returned,”
Previous media reports stated that the cryptocurrency exchange CEO had made off with $2 billion, but Soylu has said that the exchange’s portfolio totalled $108 million.
Things appear to be going from bad to worse for Turkey as another of their exchanges, Vebitcoin, is also being investigated for fraudulent activities.
All this comes on the back of a ban by Turkey earlier this month of cryptocurrency assets. The ban is on the use of cryptocurrency assets for payment and stems from the Turkish central bank’s reference to “irreparable” damage and transaction risks.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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