Turkish Exit Scam? Crypto Exchange Boss Disappears With $2 Billion

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We’ve been reporting for weeks now about the financial troubles in Turkey. Because of rising inflation, President Erdogan keeps replacing his central banker, to no avail.

As the Turkish currency, the Lira, slides further and further down the abyss, Turks are investing heavily into crypto to try and salvage some of their funds before they devaluate.

Problem is that some local exchanges are not too trustworthy, with reports of a massive Turkish exit scam now hitting newspapers worldwide.

Local media say that Faruk Fatih Ozer, found of the now closed crypto exchange Thodex, has flown to Albania over the weekend. Nothing too be seriously worried about of course, but Faruk seems to have taken $2 billion of investors’ funds with him.

Outside investment

Turkish exchange Thodex abruptly halted trading on Wednesday, April 21, prompting complaints from users who couldn’t access their funds anymore. The exchange said on its homepage that it had decided to allow outside investment in order to better serve customers. Services would remain closed for approximately five working days while the share transfer is completed.

🔥Turkish crypto exchange boss missing, reportedly taking $2 billion of investors’ funds with him🔥

👉Local media- Faruk Fatih Ozer, Thodex’s founder has flown to Albania with the funds

👉Turkish authorities have issued international warrant

👀💰#crypto #thodex

Source:CNBC pic.twitter.com/0L6mtxdwMi

— Pauline Kirk (@femvestors) April 24, 2021

It all started on April 19 when Thodex went into maintenance for 6 hours following a technical problem. Then, on Wednesday, the exchange released a statement about its intention to onboard new investors, forcing it to suspend trading for 5 days.

#Vebitcoin #Thodex : Turkey arrests dozens as cryptocurrencies collapse amid crackdown https://t.co/ccZNXE2Sv0

— Steve Lessner (@SteveLessner) April 24, 2021

Following the disruption of services, the Turkish courts immediately launched an investigation into the circumstances that led to the termination of trading on Thodex. The Financial Crime Investigation Council (MASAK) has now opened an investigation into the founder of the exchange.

In addition, all of Thodex’s assets were frozen as of this past Wednesday. According to the CEO’s statements, he left the country on April 19 to meet with potential investors.

Turkish authorities fear that Faruk Fatih Ozer, the founder of the exchange, will siphon off users’ funds and never return to Turkey.

If the scam were to be confirmed, it would almost certainly mark a long-term halt for cryptos in Turkey. The country recently banned the trading of digital assets because this activity can cause irreparable damage. In the case of Thodex, said irreparable damage would amount to $2 billion lost for 390,000 users, like what the warnings of the authorities sometimes make sense.