Turkish Crypto Exchange Associated with Hull City Sponsorship at Center of Fraud Scandal
The owner of the cryptocurrency exchange Tomya, which sponsors the sports team of the famous television producer Acun Ilıcalı, Hull City, Yavuz Usta, and economist Ece Pulaş, have been arrested as part of an investigation conducted by the Istanbul Büyükçekmece Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation aims to shed light on potential fraudulent activities associated with Tomya, a cryptocurrency exchange that gained recognition through its sponsorship of the Hull City football team owned by Acun Ilıcalı.
According to Halktv’s Dinçer Gökçe, a citizen named Musa Ekmekçioğlu claimed to have been defrauded of $211,500 by Muammer Uslu, who claimed he worked at Tomya. According to reports, Uslu introduced Ekmekçioğlu to Halil Demir, the manager of the forex system called ‘İdol FX.’ When Ekmekçioğlu did not receive the expected returns on his investment, he filed a complaint, leading to a detailed five-month investigation.
The operation resulted in the detention of 25 individuals out of a total of 32 on the list, with 11 referred to the peace criminal judge with a request for arrest. Notable figures among those arrested include Yavuz Usta, the owner of Tomya Teknoloji AŞ, and economist Ece Pulaş, who briefly worked as a consultant at the company.
Ece Pulaş’s lawyer stated that his client provides consultancy and training in capital markets and does not have any partnership or signing authority with the companies involved in the investigation or Tomya. He emphasized that Pulaş only conducted training for a short period of about five weeks.
Details on the investigation are emerging as the country prepares to introduce crypto legislation. Turkey recently handed out an 11,196-year sentence to the individuals who ran Thodex, a crypto
