Turkish Court Jails Thodex CEO's Siblings in Crypto Exchange Probe

Interpol has issued a red notice for the CEO, who has fled to Albania.

By Jamie Crawley

Apr 30, 2021 at 4:03 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:49 p.m. UTC

Turkey Flag 3D Rendering on Blue Sky Building Background

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.

Secure Your Seat

Jamie Crawley

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.

Secure Your Seat

Six people have been jailed pending trial in Turkey in connection with the probe into crypto exchange Thodex, which recently went offline with its CEO going missing.

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office said CEO Faruk Fatih Ozer’s brother and sister and other senior employees were among the six jailed, according to a report by Reuters.
The police detained at least 83 people in connection with the investigation over the last week, most of whom have since been released.
Interpol issued a red notice on April 23 for Ozer, who fled to Albania shortly after Thodex ceased trading. An Interpol red notice is a request to law enforcement officials worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition.
The exchange, which has 400,000 members, announced it was undergoing maintenance April 18-19, subsequently telling users it would be offline for five days.
Users filed a complaint against the exchange April 22 alleging hundreds of million of dollars had been stolen.
Suleyman Soylu, Turkey’s Minister of the Interior, said the company’s portfolio totaled $108 million.
Turkey has been tightening restrictions on the cryptocurrency industry of late, banning crypto as a means of payment effective today.
Prior to the ban, crypto use was soaring thanks in part to the Turkish lira facing significant outside selling pressure.
Another crypto exchange, Vebitcoin, has also found itself in the firing line of these legal and regulatory pressures. Vebitcoin informed users April 24 it was stopping all activity due to financial strain, state-run Anadolu news agency said.
Turkish authorities froze all bank accounts associated with Vebitcoin. Four of the company’s administrators and personnel have been detained.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.

Jamie Crawley

Learn more about Consensus 2023, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.

Jamie Crawley