Faruk Fatih Ozer, founder of Thodex, a cryptocurrency exchange in Turkiye has been arrested in Albania for his alleged involvement in fraud of $2 billion worth crypto assets of his clients.
Turkish interior ministry issued an international arrest warrant for fugitive businessman Faruk Fatih Ozer, who fled with a reported $2 billion in investors’ assets.
Soon after his arrest, Albania informed the Turkish government and process of Ozer’s extradition to Turkiye has been initiated.
The Istanbul-based Thodex exchange launched aggressive campaigns to lure investors. The exchange first announced luxury cars for the clients through a flashy advertising campaign featuring famous Turkish models.
The crypto exchange, nonetheless, suspended trading in April 2021 after sending a mysterious message to its clients that it needed five days to deal with an unspecified outside investment.
It went dark after running a promotional campaign that sold Dogecoins at one-fourth the price at which they were trading on other exchanges.
Turkish security officials issued a photo of Thodex founder, Ozer amid reports that he was moving to an unspecified location.
According to media reports, Thodex shut down while holding $2 billion from 391,000 investors. Turkish police have already arrested more than 60 people linked to the company.
Albanian police said the 28-year-old Ozer had been arrested from a hotel in Himara, a small town in southern Albania on the Ionian coast.
Two people suspected of having assisted him were also arrested, police said, with computers, mobile phones and bank cards seized.
