Faruk Fatih Ozer, a Turkish cryptocurrency entrepreneur, along with his two siblings, has been sentenced to an astonishing 11,196 years each for defrauding investors of millions. The 29-year-old fled to Albania in 2021 with significant investor assets following the sudden collapse of his Thodex exchange.
Extradited back to Turkey in June, Ozer was found guilty of multiple charges, including money laundering, fraud, and organized crime. During the trial, he claimed, “I would not have acted so amateurishly if my intent was criminal,” asserting his capabilities as a leader.
The court also convicted his sister Serap and brother Guven on the same charges, with the trio found guilty of crimes impacting 2,027 victims. Such lengthy sentences are increasingly common in Turkey, especially since the abolition of the death penalty in 2004.
Prosecutors initially sought a staggering 40,562-year sentence for Ozer. The rise of cryptocurrency in Turkey coincided with a severe decline in the value of the lira, prompting many to seek alternative financial avenues. Founded in 2017, Thodex quickly became one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the country.
Ozer gained notoriety for his financial acumen, forging connections with influential pro-government figures. However, the platform’s collapse in April 2021 led to a mass disappearance of investor funds, prompting Ozer to go into hiding.
He was ultimately apprehended in Albania under an Interpol warrant and extradited after a protracted legal battle. Reports indicate Ozer fled with approximately $2 billion in assets, though the prosecutor estimates losses for Thodex investors at 356 million liras, valued at about $43 million at the time of the collapse, now worth approximately $13 million due to hyperinflation and the lira’s depreciation.