Cryptocurrency fraudster facing 1000 years in prison extradited to Turkey

The founder and CEO of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, Faruk Fatih Ozer, has been extradited to Turkey by the Albanian Ministry of Justice. Last week, the plane with Özer landed in Istanbul, where the airport police department immediately took him into custody.

Ozer fled Turkey after the sudden collapse of Thodex two years ago, and he went to Albania with $ 2 billion of investors' money. Turkey issued an international arrest warrant for the Thodex executive in April 2021, and he has been wanted by Interpol since then.

Ozer has been challenging his detention in Albanian courts since his arrest on August 0, 2022. The Court of First Instance of Elbasan extended his detention, and the Court of Appeal of Durres upheld the decision.

In November, Elbasan’s court authorized his extradition to Turkey, which was also approved by the Supreme Court in Tirana. Turkish authorities have indicted 21 people associated with the crypto exchange. Prosecutors are seeking prison terms of thousands of years for the founders and executives accused of fraud and money laundering.