Turkish court remands crypto exchange founder in custody following his extradition

By Irem Demir and Basak Akbulut Yazar

ISTANBUL (AA) - The founder and former CEO of collapsed Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, Faruk Fatih Ozer, who was extradited to Türkiye by the Albanian Ministry of Justice, was remanded in custody on Sunday by a court.

Following his interrogation at the Istanbul Police Department, Ozer, whose statement was taken by the prosecutor's office at the courthouse, was transferred to a criminal court of peace.

Later, he was remanded in custody by the court on charges of "founding and running a criminal organization, aggravated fraud and laundering of property values."

He was brought to Türkiye on Thursday after the Durres Court of Appeals in Albania decided to extradite him.

- Arrest, extradition process

Wanted on a red notice, Ozer was caught in Albania on Aug. 30, 2022.

The decision of the Elbasan Court of First Instance in Albania on the continuation of Ozer's detention on Sept. 2, 2022 was appealed by his lawyers on Sept. 14.

The Durres Court of Appeals upheld the court ruling on Ozer's detention on Sept. 20.

At a hearing on Nov. 17, the Elbasan Court of First Instance declared that the request of the Elbasan Prosecutor's Office "to allow Ozer to be extradited to Türkiye" was accepted, and Ozer appealed this verdict on Dec. 7.

At a hearing held on Dec. 30 at the Durres Court of Appeals, the verdict regarding the extradition of Ozer to Türkiye was upheld.

A red notice was issued for Ozer on April 23, 2021 by Interpol.

Ozer, 27, fled Türkiye last year and left investors unable to access their funds.

Türkiye issued an international arrest warrant after he reportedly fled the country with at least $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen from Thodex.