The six detainees are said to include siblings of the missing Thodex CEO, said to hold millions of dollars of cryptoassets. Turkish authorities are currently investigating the local cryptocurrency exchange, which suddenly ceased operations last week.
As of Thursday, the six suspects consisted of relatives of the CEO and senior Thodex staff are all currently pending trial, Reuters reported.
As the investigation intensified, interpol reportedly issued a red notice for Faruk Fatih Ozer, the Thodex Founder and CEO, who has reportedly fled to Albania. “When he is caught with the red notice, we have extradition agreements with a large part of these countries.” Interior minister Suleyman Soylu said.
Authorities have detained 83 individuals suspects in relation to the ongoing investigation amid fears that the crypto exchange platform was a scam after the suspension of withdrawals.
According to local news organization Anadolu Agency, some suspects suggested that Ozer Siblings Guven and Serap may have occupied major roles in Thodex operations, noting that both siblings both had significant cryptoasset holdings.
Guven is reported to possess nearly 22 million Turkish Liras ($2.7m) on two major cryptocurrency exchanges BtcTurk and Paribus. The missing CEO’s sister Serap acculated over 120 million Turkish Liras ($14.6m) in large crypto transactions according to her Binance account. She stated that the account did not belong to her. Seraps role at Thodex was to supervise financial operations.
Initial reports suggested that the Thodex CEO has fled with upwards of $2b which he used to invest in cryptocurrency; however, according to recent findings from Suleyman Soylu suggest a figured closer to £108m.
The Turkish cryptocurrency confidence took another hit a week ago with exchange platform Vebitcoin announcing plans to cease operations as one of its employees have been arrested and charged with fraud claims. When looking to use any exchange platform, it is highly recommended to completed research and due diligence before interacting with any service.
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