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Exit scamArrest of a scammer active in cryptocurrency
The run of Fatih Özer, the Turk behind the Thodex exchange platform scam, ended in Albania.
A screenshot taken from a surveillance camera released by Demiroren news agency on April 22, 2021 shows Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Özer during passport control at Istanbul International Airport.
AFP
The founder of the cryptocurrency exchange platform Thodex, suspected of having fled Turkey in April 2021 with the assets of his clients, has been arrested in Albania, the Turkish Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday. “The Minister of Interior of the Republic of Albania […] informed Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu in the morning that the founder of Thodex, the fugitive Faruk Fatih Özer, wanted with a red notice [d’Interpol], was arrested in Vlora, Albania. His identity was confirmed by biometric tests,” the Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Extradition to Turkey
“Extradition procedures to Turkey have been launched,” the statement added. Turkey had asked in April 2021 the launch of an international arrest warrant against Faruk Fatih Özer, accused of having fled to Albania with two billion dollars in assets from hundreds of thousands of users.
Thodex had suspended operations two days earlier after posting a mysterious message saying it needed five days to process an unspecified outside investment.
“Virtual” break
The platform had conducted a major advertising campaign to attract investors, notably promising to offer luxury cars to some of them. Thodex had also made spectacular discounts on dogecoin, a cryptocurrency originally a parody but since inflated by the interest – among others – of multi-billionaire and Tesla boss Elon Musk. Sixty-two people linked to the company had been arrested in Turkey in April 2021.
(AFP)