Albanian authorities, at the request of Turkish authorities, have arrested the founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, Faruk Fatih Ozer.<\/p>\n
According to the \u0437\u0430\u044f\u0432\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044e<\/a> of the Turkish Interior Ministry, the detainee’s identity has been confirmed by biometric examination.<\/p>\n The country’s Interpol bureau has initiated the extradition process for Ozer, who has been issued a \u201cred notice\u201d.<\/p>\n On 20 April 2021, Thodex suddenly halted trading<\/a>. Initially the platform cited technical maintenance, but then said it was transferring the business to a \u201cmajor partner,\u201d which reportedly would take 4-5 days. Users were alarmed by the closure of the company’s social media accounts.<\/p>\n As part of the investigation into the alleged exit-scam, authorities issued arrest warrants for 78 people<\/a> connected with the platform. Most of the suspects have been detained.<\/p>\n However, according to media reports, Ozer had already flown to Albania on 20 April \u0432\u044b\u043b\u0435\u0442\u0435\u043b \u0432 \u0410\u043b\u0431\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044e<\/a>. Earlier he had assured Twitter users that he did not plan to go into hiding.<\/p>\n In April 2022 it emerged that the court sought for Ozer and another 20 suspects in connection with a fraudulent scheme a 40 564 years in prison<\/a> for each.<\/p>\n The investigation valued the damage caused by the exchange at 356 million Turkish lira (about $24 million). According to Chainalysis analysts, the figure stood at $2.6 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n In April 2021, the Turkish exchange Vebitcoin<\/a> also ceased operations, with authorities launching an investigation.<\/p>\n