According to available information, Turkish prosecutors are requesting the courts imprison alleged crypto fraudsters in the nation for thousands of years. According to local media sources, the suspects are among those implicated in the $108 million fraud using the Thodex cryptocurrency exchange. The primary suspect in the investigation is Faruk Fatih zer, the founder and CEO of Thodex, who has been declared wanted.
Last year, Thodex warned customers that service would be unavailable for 4-5 days due to a selling procedure. The network, which processes millions of dollars in transactions every day, was one of the country’s largest crypto platforms.
Users expressed their dissatisfaction on Twitter after they were unable to access their accounts or withdraw their money, prompting police searches around the nation. As a result, it was claimed that around $2 billion in investor funds were lost. During the inquiry, around 62 people were arrested and jailed.
Ozer stated at the time that he was only in town to meet with international investors and that he would soon return to Turkey. Prosecutors, however, said he escaped to Albania and issued a red warning for his arrest via Interpol.
However, it appears that efforts to apprehend him have been futile since he is still on the run. On the other hand, Albanian officials have detained some people who allegedly offered sanctuary to the criminal mastermind. Despite the fact that the primary suspect has yet to be identified, prosecutors are proceeding with the charges. The charges include utilising information systems fraudulently, forming a criminal group, and using bank or credit information systems as a tool.
If apprehended, Ozer may face a prison sentence of 40,564 years if convicted. While Chainalysis predicted a loss of roughly $2 billion, the indictment indicated that the entire loss as a result of the exchange collapse was $24 million (356 million lira).
