The Turkish cryptocurrency exchange that sponsors Premier League football team Hull City is reportedly at the center of a high-profile fraud scandal in the country.
Yavuz Usta, owner of the Tomya exchange platform, is among 25 people detained as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Büyükçekmece Prosecutor General’s Office, CoinDesk Turkey reported on Wednesday.
While there are no reports of specific allegations against Tomya, the story is making headlines in Turkey due to the company’s affiliation with Hull City, owned by prominent local media personality Acun Ilıcalı.
Details about the investigation are emerging as the country prepares to introduce cryptocurrency legislation. Turkey recently imposed an 11,196-year sentence on the people who ran Thodex, a cryptocurrency exchange that suddenly collapsed in 2021. Despite the Thodex scandal, cryptocurrency adoption in the country has shown no signs of slowing down.
The investigation into Tomya was apparently initiated by a complaint from an investor, Musa Ekmekçioğlu. He claimed that someone introduced to him by a Tomya employee defrauded him of $211,500. Along with Usta, a consultant who worked with Tomya for a short period was also detained, according to CoinDesk Turkey.
CoinDesk has reached out to Tomya for comment.
