Turkish Police Detain 62 People in Thodex Probe, State News Agency Says: Report

Police in Turkey have detained 62 people in connection with criminal complaints filed against crypto exchange Thodex, according to reports citing government-controlled Anadolu Agency.

• The Thodex crypto exchange went offline April 18 with its CEO subsequently going missing, fleeing the country according to reports.
• Istanbul police said that Faruk Fatih Ozer had flown to the Albanian capital Tirana on Tuesday.
• According to a report by Reuters, citing the Turkish state-controlled news agency, prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 78 people with 62 detained so far.
• Anadolu Agency reported Friday that Turkey’s Justice Ministry is seeking Interpol’s help in finding, detaining and returning Thodex’s CEO Faruk Fatih Ozer from Albania to Turkey.
• The Thodex exchange, which has 400,000 members, announced it was undergoing maintenance April 18-19, subsequently telling users it would be offline for five days.
• Users filed a complaint against the exchange Thursday alleging hundreds of millions of dollars had been stolen.
• Cryptocurrency has been thriving in Turkey this year with people turning to it as a hedge against inflation, which had reached as high as 16% in March as oil prices spiked, according to Bloomberg.
• The central bank announced April 16 that cryptocurrency was to be banned as a means of payment.

See also: Exec of Chinese Blockchain Firm Allegedly Misappropriated $45M in State-Owned Bitcoin: Report

UPDATE (Apr. 23, 2021, 18:16 UTC): The article has been modified to include a new update on government action via Anadolu Agency.