Turkish crypto founder flees with $2 billion

Turkish crypto founder flees with $2 billion

ISTANBUL: Turkish prosecutors yesterday opened an investigation after the Istanbul-based founder of a cryptocurrency exchange shut down his site and fled the country with a reported $2 billion in investors' assets. The Thodex website went dark after posting a mysterious message saying it was suspending trading for five days on Wednesday because of an unspecified outside investment.

Turkish security officials then released a photo of Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Ozer going through passport control at Istanbul airport on his way to an unspecified location. Local media reports said Ozer - reported to be either 27 or 28 years old - had flown either to Albania or Thailand.

HaberTurk and other media said Thodex shut down after running a promotional campaign that sold Dogecoins at a big rebate - but did not allow investors to sell. Reports said the website and the entire exchange had shut down while holding at least $2 billion from 391,000 investors. "The victims are panicked,“ investors' lawyer Oguz Evren Kilic was quoted as saying by HaberTurk. "They are lodging complaints at prosecutors' offices in the cities they reside.“

Prosecutors launched an investigation into the businessman on charges of "aggravated fraud and founding a criminal organisation“, the private DHA news