Company Scams Investors After Claiming to Own Turkey’s National Cryptocurrency

Turkish investors are the latest victims of a cryptocurrency scam, this one involving a cryptocurrency advertised as becoming Turkey’s national virtual currency upon launch. One of the major shareholders of the cryptocurrency confessed that the whole thing was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme, Cointelegraph reported.

Muhammed Satıroğlu, the shareholder in question, told media that digital currency called Turcoin “doesn’t have a single dollar in the bank.” Hipper is the company behind the founding of Turcoin and was launched by Satıroğlu and his partner Sadun Kaya in 2017.

The confession came after Kaya ran off with the collected fund, which is reported to amount to 100 million lira ($21 million). Apparently, the company was already in hot water even before the disclosure as it received numerous criminal complaints from investors who had not been receiving any payment since early June 2018.

Satıroğlu told news outlet Hürriyet Daily News that he was merely acting as a mediator for the scheme and that all the money was channeled to Cyprus, where Kaya’s company is based. He went on to say that Kaya hasn’t returned any calls and is now in hiding, leaving him to deal with the consequences that their false venture created.

Satıroğlu pleaded not guilty during his confession, stressing his role as merely a mediator between the investors and the fraudulent company. However, he may have confessed some culpability as he admitted that he has access to some of the investors’ funds. “I have not fled with the money. I will return all the money to the members if authorities unblock my bank accounts,” he said.

In February, Turkish officials announced that the government was planning to launch its own cryptocurrency that is indeed to be called Turcoin. The scammers rode the hype that was caused by this announcement and lured investors into their scheme. Additionally, the bogus company also threw extravagant parties attended by high-profile individuals like celebrities and even gave out luxury cars – some of which were apparently rented – to create an air of authenticity to their claims.