Recall that Faruk Fatih Ozer, the CEO of a Turkish exchange, fled with up to $2 billion belonging to customers last week. Turkish authorities have launched an investigation and are making headway.
Yesterday, authorities apprehended six suspects pending trial. The suspects include the exchange’s senior employees, as well as siblings of the missing CEO, Reuters reported.
Over 83 people have been detained by local authorities concerning the case. Some of the suspects hinted that two of the CEO’s siblings may be in on the exit scam. Local news agency Anadolu Agency reports that Güven Özer and Serap Özer played major roles in Thodex’s operations.
Güven reportedly has nearly $2.7 million (22 million Turkish liras) in his possession on two local crypto exchanges – BtcTurk and Paribu. He was an unofficial active executive until the exchange shut down. Serap, on the other hand, is alleged to hold more than $14.6 million (120 million liras) on her Binance account. In her defense, she claims that the account does not belong to her. Serap reportedly managed financial activities at Thodex.
While it was previously reported that the CEO ran off with about $2 billion, interior minister Soylu claims that the total portfolio of the company was $108 million.
Turkish exchanges are cashing out big following the government’s move to harden its stance on crypto. Another Turkish-based crypto exchange, Vebitcoin, also exited the market last week following allegations of fraud.
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Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
