Founder of collapsed crypto exchange Thodex detained in Turkey

The saga of the Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex continues, with the founder being finally brought back home in two years after the platform halted trading.

Faruk Fatih Ozer, founder and former CEO of Thodex, has been extradited from Albania to Turkey, Cointelegraph Turkey reported.

Facing charges of fraud and money laundering, the local police immediately detained the 27-year-old upon his arrival at Istanbul Airport on April 20, the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.

According to the report, the plane carrying Ozer took off from the Albanian capital Tirana in the morning and landed at Istanbul Airport on Thursday. The Istanbul Airport Police Department took custody of Ozer on arrival. The detained founder is expected to undergo health check-ups and then will be taken to the Istanbul Police Department.

Ozer’s arrival in Turkey comes almost two years after the Thodex exchange abruptly halted trading and withdrawals amid reports of police raids at its offices on April 22, 2021. Local publications speculated that the suspension was part of an exit scam involving Thodex CEO Ozer, who fled Turkey with at least $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen from Thodex. Interpol subsequently issued a red notice for Ozer, who reportedly ran to Albania.

In about a year after Thodex collapsed, the fugitive founder was arrested in Albania in August 2022. Additionally, Turkish police detained 62 people over alleged Thodex exit scam, also arresting some siblings of the then-missing CEO.

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