Thodex Founder Sentenced to 460 Life Sentences for Massive Turkish Crypto Scandal
Date: 2023-09-09 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: IN WORLD
The court sentenced Fatih Ozer, who was the founder of the failed crypto exchange Thodex, to 11,196 years in prison. This is equivalent to 466 life sentences in Turkish prisons,” Bloomberg reports.
Özer was convicted along with his brother Güven Özer and sister Serap Osel for fraud, among other related crimes.
In addition, the court imposed a fine of 135 million lire (about $5 million) on the defendants.
The three defendants made up the 21 defendants charged by Turkish authorities in the Thodex failure. The exchange was the country's largest before it suddenly went offline during the 2021 April holiday.
This affected 400,000 users, who lost access to their cryptocurrency deposits worth about $2 billion. Ozer initially attempted to leave Albanian territory, but in August 2022 he was arrested due to an Interpol red notice.
Of the 21 defendants, only 16 were acquitted, and four of those who were already in prison were released due to lack of evidence. Others received various prison sentences.
However, Ozer maintained his innocence even during his guilty verdict. He stated that he did not lead a criminal organization. He is said to have said:
Thodex is actually just a company that went bankrupt. There is no mention of a criminal organization in the Todex.
Life imprisonment in Turkey requires a minimum term of 24 years.
