Founder of Collapsed Turkish Crypto Exchange Thodex, Faruk Özer, Sentenced to 11,196 Years in Prison

Summary

• Faruk Özer, founder of the Turkish crypto exchange Thodex, has been sentenced to 11,196 years, along with his siblings, and fined 135 million Turkish liras (about $5 million).
• Thodex ceased operations in April 2021, leaving 400,000 users with around $2 billion in losses.
• Özer fled to Albania but was apprehended in August 2022 and extradited to Turkey.
• The investigation implicated Özer's siblings and 83 individuals, resulting in various prison terms for their involvement.

Formerly popular among Turkish natives, Thodex ceased operations in April 2021, coinciding with the founder Faruk Fatih Özer's disappearance. The exchange’s collapse left more than 400,000 users grappling with the loss of access to their crypto holdings collectively valued at around $2 billion.

In a recent ruling by a Turkish Court, Faruk Özer, along with his siblings Serap Özer and Güven Özer, have been collectively sentenced to a staggering 11,196 years, 10 months, and 15 days behind bars. The trio has also been slapped with a hefty judicial fine of 135 million Turkish liras (equivalent to approximately $5 million).

Özer's escape to Albania proved short-lived as he was arrested in August 2022, courtesy of an Interpol red alert.

By April 2023, Özer was extradited to Turkey and into custody by the authorities, facing a litany of charges, including establishing and managing a criminal organization, being a member of an organization, fraudulent use of information systems in relation to banks or credit institutions, among others. 

The investigation, which implicated Özer's siblings as well as four senior Thodex employees, led to the detention of at least 83 individuals. During the subsequent trial, 21 defendants were confronted with the prospect of up to 40,564 years in prison.

The Anatolian 9th Heavy Penal Court’s ruling on Thursday saw 16 of the 21 defendants acquitted, with four of the seven individuals previously detained released due to insufficient evidence. The remaining defendants received various prison terms for their involvement in the crypto exchange's downfall.