Turkish Crypto Boss Sentenced To 11,196 Years In Jail

Post created on 3:21 pm

A Turkish Crypto founder, Faruk Fatih Ozer, who ran Thodex for a few years before it crashed in 2021 has been sentenced to 11,196 years in prison for crimes including fraud.

Ozer was sentenced by a Turkish court on Thursday in Istanbul alongside his two siblings who were found guilty of fraud, leading a criminal organization and money laundering.

Thodex was founded by Ozer a high-school dropout in 2017 but later fled to Albania after Thodex went bust.

On his final hearing according to state-run Anadolu Agency Ozer appeared unrepentant and was quoted saying “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.”

The total amount of losses investors suffered when Thodex collapsed remains unclear. The prosecutor’s indictment estimates them at 356 million liras ($13 million), but Turkish media have reported figures as high as $2 billion.

A study by Chainalysis put the value of cryptocurrency lost at Thodex at $2.6 billion.

The collapsed cryptocurrency boss was extradited to Turkey from Albania this year by Interpol following a lengthy legal process.

[SA]