Turkish authorities have launch a full investigation into the scandalous cryptocurrency exchange Thodex. Currently, a total of 62 individuals have been taken into custody in connection with the company. There are reports that the founder of the exchange has fled the country, however he is claiming that he will return and face the repercussions. The outstanding question that everyone wants an answer to is, “where is the money, the 2 Billion dollars?”
It was reported yesterday that hundreds of thousands of users of the Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, have been left unable to access their digital assets after the trading platform abruptly halted trading Wednesday, spurring fraud allegations and thousands of criminal complaints.
What is being alleged is that Faruk Faith Ozer Founder & CEO of the Thodex Cryptocurrency Exchange, has reportedly fled the country with the funds.
Friday, Turkish police in Istanbul arrested 62 suspects as a part of an ongoing investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange company. Thodex exchange website will remain inaccessible for customer use during the police’s investigation, a security source said on Friday. Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) initiated an investigation into all personnel in charge of the company’s daily operations. MASAK also announced that it had blocked all of the platform’s bank accounts in the country as of Wednesday.
The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 78 suspects over their alleged links to Thodex, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. Police teams carried out simultaneous raids in eight different provinces, to capture 62 out of a total of 78 suspects. Efforts are still underway to arrest the remaining suspects. In addition, a large number of digital materials and documents were seized during the operations.
Recently, The Central Bank of Turkey announced a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies for payments. The bank cited excessive volatility and a lack of regulation as reasons for the ban. The ban will go into effect on April 30th.
