Wanted Turkish crypto exchange founder arrested in Albania
The saga of defunct Turkish crypto exchange Thodex continues as its fugitive founder is now in custody in Albania. Local law enforcement arrested Faruk Fatih Özer in an operation carried out at 05:30 (UTC) on Tuesday 30 August in the country’s capital Tirana.
According to a report from Cointelegraph Turkey, Özer is currently in custody. After initial questioning, the Turkish Embassy in Tirana will be informed by local authorities. Both the Turkish Ministry of the Interior and the Albanian government are working together on the matter.
Özer will be subject to legal proceedings in Albania, after which it is expected that he will be deported to Turkey.
This is the latest update in a history dating back to April 22, 2021, when Thodex stopped all trading and withdrawals on its platform. In response to an impending police raid, the exchange fell silent and the first reports of Özer’s disappearance began.
Shortly after, Turkish authorities arrested 62 people with potential links to the exchange and its founder, who subsequently confirmed that he had fled to the Balkan country of Albania. There had previously been a raid on a private residence in Tirana in search of Özer, but it proved unsuccessful.
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According to reports, the Thodex scandal potentially affected 391,000 crypto exchange users and approximately $200,000 million in investments.
Turkey faced two similar incidents back to back with both the ThoDex scandal and another involving a closed crypto exchange called Vebitcoin. The drama unfolded as Turkish authorities unveiled new crypto regulations, which included a ban on crypto payment options.
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In the past year, the DeFi space has seen several exchanges and crypto-related companies disappear in the face of adversity.
The latest example is the founders of Three Arrows Capital (3AC), who are reportedly nowhere to be seen. A lawyer speculates in Dubai but can’t be sure. 3AC recently filed for bankruptcy and still owes billions to various companies.
Along with 3AC, the company Terraform Labs, which was behind the major collapse of the LUNA token, also faced its share of investigations for misconduct. The founder Do Kwon has been under great scrutiny and then went silent. Regulators in South Korea imposed a travel ban on all Terraform employees, despite the fact that the founder is already out of the country.
