Founder of Turkish crypto exchange sentenced to over 11,000 years in prison

Published 08-09-2023, 09:30 pm
Updated 08-09-2023, 09:45 pm
© Reuters.  Founder of Turkish crypto exchange sentenced to over 11,000 years in prison

  • Thodex once stood as one of Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, but it abruptly went offline in April 2021.
  • The collapse of the exchange had a profound impact on Turkish citizens, as cryptocurrency served as a hedge against skyrocketing inflation and the significant devaluation of the national currency, the lira.
Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of the now-defunct Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, along with his sister Serap Özer and brother Güven Özer, received a staggering prison sentence of 11,196 years, 10 months, and 15 days. This was according to reports from local media. Furthermore, they imposed a judicial fine of 135 million Turkish liras, approximately $5 million.

Thodex once stood as one of Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, but it abruptly went offline in April 2021. Simultaneously, Faruk Özer disappeared, leaving over 400,000 users in the dark. Furthermore, these users had no access to their deposits totaling around $2 billion in cryptocurrencies. Özer managed to escape to Albania, but authorities arrested him in August 2022 following an Interpol red notice.

Record-breaking sentence for crypto fraud By April 2023, authorities extradited Özer to Turkey, where the police promptly detained him, bringing seven charges against him. These charges included establishing and managing an organization with the intent to commit a crime and being a member of a criminal organization. The charges also included fraud involving the use of information systems linked to banks or credit institutions, fraud against merchants, company executives, and cooperative managers, and money laundering involving assets derived from criminal activities.

Upon uncovering the case, authorities imprisoned Özer’s brother, sister, and four other high-ranking employees. They also detained at least 83 individuals as part of the investigation. The subsequent trial involved 21 defendants, who faced the potential for a cumulative prison sentence of up to 40,564 years.

On Thursday 7 Spetember, the Anatolian 9th Heavy Penal Court announced its verdict, acquitting 16 of the 21 defendants. It also released four of the seven incarcerated individuals due to a lack of compelling evidence. The remaining defendants received varying prison terms for their involvement in various criminal activities related to the Thodex collapse.

The collapse of Thodex had a profound impact on Turkish citizens, as cryptocurrency had served as a hedge against skyrocketing inflation and the significant devaluation of the national currency, the lira.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2025 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.