The Turkish authorities are demanding an unprecedented term of imprisonment for suspects of fraud with the cryptocurrency exchange. According to Bloomberg, 21 alleged participants in the fraudulent scheme, known as exit scam, can be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 40,564 years each.
The accused are charged with the management of the now non-functioning cryptocurrency exchange Thodex. According to the indictment, the head of the fraudulent exchange is allegedly 28-year-old Faruk Fatih Ozer, whose trail disappeared a year ago.
In April last year, a notification appeared on the Thodex website for users that trading publications would be closed for several days due to the “sale” procedure. However, the exchange never reopened, and investors could not access their accounts and withdraw money. Thodex itself stated in social networks that no one was deceived and did not lose their money.
Nevertheless, many users have accused the exchange of exit scam – a fraudulent practice when a company stops providing services, but continues to charge for them.
Although at the time it was reported that the damage amounted to several billion dollars, according to the indictment, the amount of damage was about $ 24 million.
An international warrant was issued for the arrest of the Lake. He was last seen in the same month when the stock exchange closed. The man was flying from Istanbul to Albania allegedly to meet with investors.
Last year, Ozer assured that he would return to Turkey and cooperate with the investigation, but so far he has not been caught.