Balkans | Ozer, the founder of Thodex, was transferred to Türkiye

Faruk Fatih Ozer, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, which Albania decided to hand over to Turkey, was taken to Istanbul by plane.

Faruk Fatih Ozer, the founder of Thodex Exchange, was transferred to Turkey from Albania.

Ozer was temporarily detained in Albania, from where he escaped at the request of the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice and the Directorate General for External Relations and the European Union requested Ozer’s extradition. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag had a telephone conversation with Albanian Minister of Justice Olsi Manja, and the issue of extradition was discussed.

After the approval of the Albanian judicial authorities’ decision “Export Ozer to Turkey” by the Supreme Courts, measures were taken to bring Ozer to Turkey. The plane carrying Ozer landed at Istanbul Airport.

return process

Ozer was arrested in Albania on August 30, 2022, and was wanted on a red notice. The decision of the Elbasan Court of First Instance regarding the continued detention of Ozer on September 2, 2022 was appealed by Ozer’s lawyer on September 14, 2022. The Dirag Court of Appeals upheld the decision to detain Ozer on September 20.

On November 17, 2022, the Elbasan First Instance Court announced that the request of the Elbasan Public Prosecutor’s Office to allow Ozer to be extradited to Turkey was accepted. Ozer appealed this decision on December 7, 2022.

The hearing related to this decision was held on 16, 20, 27 and 30 December 2022 in Dheeraj Court of Appeal. On December 30, 2022, the Durach Court of Appeal approved the decision regarding the extradition of Ozer to Turkey.

The Albanian Supreme Court rejected the appeal against the decision to extradite Faruk Fatih Ozer, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, to Turkey.