Faruk Fatih Ozer, the founder and former CEO of Turkish cryptocurrency trade Thodex, has been extradited from Albania to Turkey, following a two-year manhunt after the platform abruptly ceased buying and selling.
Going through fees of fraud and cash laundering, the 27-year-old was taken into custody by the Istanbul Airport Police Division upon arrival on April 20, as reported by Turkish state-run information company Anadolu Company.
Authorized proceedings and extradition course of
Ozer was arrested in Albania on August 30, 2022, after a purple discover was issued by Interpol on April 23, 2021. Charged with fraud and founding a felony group, Ozer had fled Turkey, leaving buyers unable to entry their funds.
Turkey issued a global arrest warrant after he reportedly absconded with round $2 billion in investor funds poured into Thodex.
The Elbasan Courtroom of First Occasion in Albania upheld Ozer’s detention on September 2, 2022, and the choice was appealed by his legal professionals on September 14, 2022.
The Durres Courtroom of Appeals maintained the ruling on September 20. On November 17, 2022, the Elbasan Courtroom of First Occasion granted the Elbasan Prosecutor’s Workplace’s request to extradite Ozer to Turkey, which Ozer appealed on December 7, 2022. Nevertheless, the Durres Courtroom of Appeals upheld the extradition verdict on December 30, 2022.
Ozer’s extradition course of concluded when the aircraft carrying him took off from the Albanian capital of Tirana and landed at Istanbul Airport.
Upon arrival, the Istanbul Airport Police Division took custody of Ozer, who is predicted to bear well being check-ups earlier than being transported to the Istanbul Police Division.
Thodex’s collapse and aftermath
Thodex halted buying and selling and withdrawals on April 22, 2021, amidst studies of police raids at its places of work. Native publications speculated that the suspension was a part of an exit rip-off involving Ozer, who allegedly fled Turkey with at the least $2 billion price of stolen cryptocurrency from Thodex.
Interpol subsequently issued a purple discover for Ozer, who reportedly escaped to Albania. Virtually a yr after Thodex’s collapse, Ozer was apprehended in Albania in August 2022. Turkish police additionally detained 62 people over the alleged Thodex exit rip-off, together with some siblings of the then-missing CEO.
Ozer’s arrest in Albania marked a turning level within the Thodex saga, with the founder lastly dropped at justice in Turkey after leaving almost 400,000 members at midnight with out entry to their funds.
Customers had deposited $2 billion in cryptocurrencies within the trade, and Ozer’s extradition on April 19, 2023, and detainment on April 20, signifies the start of the subsequent chapter on this high-profile case.