Thodex founder Faruk Ozer Approved Extradition To Turkey from Albanian Court

Thodex founder was imposed extradition to Turkey by Albanian court.
He fled away with $2 billion of investor’s money.
Change of laws regarding crypto in Turkey.

End of Escape

The fugitive founder, Faruk Fatih Ozer, of one of the largest crypto exchanges in Turkey, Thodex, is imposed extradition by the court of Albania.

He is alleged of fraud and committing other serious financial crimes. Ozer was detained in Albania in the recent summer after his Thodex platform shut down. He is warranted extradition to Turkey by the court of Elbasan.

As per the Anadolu Agency, Judge Elis Dine in the Durres Court of Appeals noted that the decision is said to be presented in the upcoming two weeks.

According to CNBC, Thodex said that the coin trading firm was “temporarily closed” due to the “abnormal fluctuation in the accounts,” when translating the statement from their website. Faruk Ozer has fled to Albania, taking $2 billion of investors’ funds. After it, Turkish authorities issued an international warrant, and soon Interpol issued a Red notice.

However, Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) has also started an investigation over the recent FTX crash tracking its activities in Turkey. Lawyer Abdullah Usame Ceran filed a criminal complaint against Thodex’s founder. He reported that over 30,000 users are adversely affected by the misdeed, which has incurred a loss of almost $2 billion.

Reports of a blockchain forensic company, Chainalysis stated- “We should note that roughly 90% of the total value lost to rug pulls in 2021 can be attributed to one fraudulent centralized exchange, Thodex, whose CEO disappeared soon after the exchange halted users’ ability to withdraw funds.” They also noted that the loss is estimated at over $2.6 billion.

Severity in Crypto Regulations

The Crypto boom attracted Turks to put their savings to protect from Inflation (approx 85% on an annual basis), due to which the Turkish lira’s value was depreciating. In between, the crypto exchange made over 400,000 users, out of which 390,000 were active users who suffered losses.

According to Turkish prosecutors, Ozer and the other 20 members should separately be jailed for 40,564 years. Charges over the accused are of establishing a criminal organization, fraud and money laundering of proceeds from illicit activities.

As per the announcement of Turkey’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, Faruk Ozer was caught in Vlora. His identity was confirmed through biometric data.Footages are found of Ozer escaping from Istanbul Airport. An expected loss of 350 million Turkish lira ($20 million) in fraud and money laundering is reported.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has banned the use of crypto as a means of payment or in terms of buying and selling goods and services and local transfers.