Faruk Fatih Ozer, CEO of the Turkish crypto exchange Thodex, has been sentenced to 11,196 years in jail by a Turkish court for a variety of offenses including fraud, managing a criminal organization, and money laundering. Thodex was Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchange until it abruptly shut down in April 2021, and Ozer fled to Albania.
Faruk Fatih Ozer, CEO of Thodex, was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison
Faruk Fatih Ozer was sentenced to 11,196 years in jail by an Istanbul court on September 8 for defrauding thousands of cryptocurrency investors out of more than $2 billion, according to Bloomberg. His two siblings were also sentenced to prison. Ozer was charged with aggravated fraud, running a criminal organization, and money laundering.
“I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth. That is evident in this company I established at the age of 22. I wouldn’t have acted so amateurishly if this were a criminal organization.”
Faruk Fatih Ozer launched Thodex in 2017 and fled to Albania after it failed in April 2021. According to the Turkish Interior Ministry, it was an exit scam. Ozer was apprehended in Albania in August 2022 and extradited to Turkey in April of this year, following a lengthy judicial process.
While the entire loss for cryptocurrency investors is uncertain, the prosecutor’s indictment suggested $13 million. Turkish media, on the other hand, reported $2 billion in losses to its consumers. According to Chainalysis research, the value of cryptocurrency lost at Thodex was $2.6 billion.
The repercussions from Thodex had a significant impact on the Turkish crypto community, raising scrutiny on crypto businesses and exchanges. Turkey is experiencing severe inflation and devaluation of the Turkish lira, but crypto has failed to give relief to the community as a result of the Thodex failure.
