The Turkish government has arrested one Ethereum developer with the online name “Fede’s Intern” in the city of Izmir on charges that he helped individuals to “misuse” the Ethereum blockchain.
The developer has strongly denied the allegations, saying he is merely an infrastructure builder in the crypto ecosystem.
A series of posts on X revealed the news that local authorities had alerted his lawyer of potential charges, yet no formal indictment has been confirmed.
The detention of Fede has sparked outrage from concerned people familiar with the matter, led by the crypto community, that the case should be handled with transparency and due process.
Developer Denies Wrongdoing and Cites Global Business Relationships
In his public defense, Fede’s Intern portrayed himself as a businessman with operative businesses in more than a dozen industries.
He stated that his companies have their roots in Europe, are open about their affairs, and have even conducted work for some governments.
Maintaining the humanity of his defense, “If we are the villains, I don’t know what to say. We do everything out in the open.”
He also claimed to have reached out to senior contacts in over a dozen nations, in Europe, the U.S., the UAE, and Asia, to make his plea.
Friends and acquaintances from various jurisdictions were phoning Turkish officials, and there was a possibility he might be allowed to fly out of the country to contest the charges from abroad, he claimed.
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Turkish Minister Accuses Ethereum of Being Misused
Fede’s Intern also reported that Turkey’s internal affairs minister accused him of helping in the misuse of Ethereum.
Allegedly innocent, Fede declared his complete willingness to cooperate with Turkish authorities or any government that wishes to investigate the matter.
He disclosed that a team of attorneys was already defending him and that very soon he might be jetted off to Europe by private plane.
Though the details of these allegations remain vague, the developer again stressed that neither he nor any of his companies have ever supported criminal activity and that all activities have been aboveboard and transparent.
Unusual Events During Custody and Belated Disclosure
As he recounted his experience in detention, the developer described bizarre events, including experiencing an earthquake while in custody and witnessing a brawl by an inebriated British national in the holding cell.
He explained that he waited to publicize his detention to avoid immediate skepticism and to wait for his attorney to provide him with the green light to speak.
“I don’t know what the heck I win by making up that this happened to me,” he said.
His situation has been compared to previous high-profile detentions in the crypto space, most recently that of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan in Nigeria earlier this year.
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Comparisons with Binance Executive Case Stoke Fears of Overreach
The parallels between Fede’s Intern arrest and Gambaryan’s case have intensified controversy over whether governments are overreaching in pursuing blockchain infrastructure providers.
Gambaryan, a Binance executive and United States citizen, was arrested in Nigeria in April 2024 on five counts of money laundering and currency speculation totaling $34.4 million.
He was also accused of illegal financial operations through Binance but insisted he had no involvement in the company’s broader financial decisions.
Notably, Gambaryan’s legal defense team was able to convince the court to dismiss the charges against him, but on certain conditions. All charges were later dropped, and he was released on 24th October 2024.
The similarities between the Gambaryan and Fede cases have induced an improper notion within the crypto community that developers and employees may be unfairly held accountable for the actions of others inside decentralized networks.