Turkey officials have blocked the onshore bank accounts of Vebitcoin. The action came after Vebitcoin announced that the unspecified financial strain led to the decision to stop all its activities.
With Turkey’s cryptocurrency ban looming over the crypto world, many Turkish crypto exchanges have been cast under the microscope. Recently, Turkish authorities detained four employees linked to the Vebitcoin investigation on allegations of fraud.
In a statement, Mehmet Nadir Yağcı, a prosecutor in the southwestern city of Muğla said “Following the search and seizure operations carried out at the company headquarters and at some addresses, four people, who are company directors and employees, were detained. The investigation carried out by the Directorate of Cyber Crimes Branch of the Muğla Police Department is carried out in a multifaceted and meticulous manner.”
A digital asset trading platform, Vebitcoin was among the largest in Turkey with nearly $60 million in daily volume, with Bitcoin accounting for half of its trading activity.
“Due to the recent developments in the crypto money industry, there was a much higher density in our operations than expected. We would like to state with regret that this situation has led us to a very difficult process,” the announcement on Vebitcoin’s website read in part.
“We have decided to cease our activities in order to fulfill all regulations and claims.” Vebitcoin has become the second Turkish crypto exchange in a week to face issues after authorities detained more than a dozen people with ties to Thodex.
The arrests and shutdowns come after a surprise “attack” from Turkey’s newly-appointed central bank governor. The ban on cryptocurrencies in Turkey will take effect as of April 30th.The ban has been a hot issue, as Turkey’s opposition leaders have voiced their support for cryptocurrency.
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