Two Crypto Exchanges In Turkey Go Bankrupt Because Their Boss Escapes Investors' Money

Turkey crypto exchange closes (Executium-unsplash)

JAKARTA - Two crypto exchanges in Turkey were forced to collapse as their owners were tempted to withdraw tens of trillions of Rupiah from investors. This incident occurred on the Thodex and Vebitcoin exchanges.

As a result, the investors' funds that were taken away by the leadership of Thodex were threatened that they could not be returned. On Friday, April 23, Vebitcoin also reportedly closed transaction activities on its platform. The reason for Vebitcoin is due to financial difficulties.

Because of this adverse event for crypto investors, Turkish authorities immediately took action and blocked Vebitcoin-owned bank accounts. The authorities also succeeded in arresting four people.

"Four company administrators and personnel were detained on Saturday (April 24, 2021) on charges of fraud," said Prosecutor Mehmet Nadir Yagci as quoted by Reuters on Monday, April 26.

A few days before the incident, a giant crypto exchange called Thodex reportedly closed the crypto trading platform for 4 to 5 days. Thodex argued that the company was in the process of selling.

After that, Thodex boss Faruk Fatih Ozer deactivated his entire social media account and took off crypto investors' money. The Turkish government took action and hunted down Ozer who managed to escape to Tirana, Albania.

Based on a report from the Hurryet Daily News it was reported that Ozer fled with a total of 2 billion US dollars (around Rp 29 trillion).

As a result of this incident, the authorities successfully arrested 62 perpetrators who were suspected of committing fraud on the Thodex crypto exchange. They were arrested during an operation carried out by Turkish authorities in 8 cities, one of which was Istanbul.

Turkish police have also issued arrest warrants for 16 other suspects of the Thodex exchange fraud. Until now, Turkish authorities are hunting down Faruk Fetih Ozer by issuing an international warrant.

The warrant was aimed at arresting and extraditing the Thodex boss. Interpol Turkey has also issued a Red Notice to the 27-year-old Founder and CEO of Thodex.