Let’s assume that you are a victim of fraud on a cryptocurrency exchange and let’s first evaluate what rights you have legally at this stage, primarily in terms of Criminal Law. Because there is also a Private Law aspect for the compensation of the damage incurred as a result of the wrongful act.
As soon as you realize that you have been defrauded, you should initiate the legal process as quickly as possible. This is because scammers can lure victims into their networks again and again with promises that they can get their money back and thus buy time. For this reason, it is of great importance for the victims that the legal process begins as soon as possible. The first step to initiate legal proceedings is to exercise the right of denunciation or complaint.
It is of great legal benefit to seek the assistance of a lawyer when applying to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Namely, the incident subject to the complaint or denunciation should be clearly explained, and evidence and findings, if any, should be attached to the petition. Since cryptocurrency fraud differs from other types of fraud in a more technical sense, the realization of the narrative with clear expressions, the presence of evidence and findings in the petition will be of great importance in the context of revealing the material reality.
Since the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is the competent authority in the collection of evidence and the investigation process in such cases, it will be in the best interest of the victims to file a criminal complaint directly to the prosecutor’s office. In the event that notifications or complaints are made through the other units mentioned above, it will take a longer period of time to proceed to the investigation process, as the investigation phase will only begin after it is forwarded to the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.