11,196 Year Sentence Given to Failed Crypto Exchange Boss

Faruk Fatih Ozer, center.Photo byHakan Akgun/Getty Images

Former Thodex crypto exchange chief, Faruk Fatih Ozer, received a staggering 11,196-year prison sentence from a Turkish court, marking the culmination of a legal battle riddled with fraud allegations.

In a late Thursday ruling in Istanbul, Ozer and his two siblings were handed similar lengthy prison terms, convicted on charges ranging from aggravated fraud and leading a criminal organization to money laundering.

Ozer, a high-school dropout who established Thodex in 2017 and fled to Albania after its spectacular collapse in 2021, maintained his defiance throughout the trial. “I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth,” boldly stated in court, as reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency. “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 extent of investor losses resulting from Thodex's demise remains shrouded in uncertainty. The prosecutor's indictment initially pegged them at 356 million Turkish liras ($13 million), yet Turkish media reports have suggested figures soaring as high as $2 billion. A Chainalysis study even estimated the cryptocurrency losses at Thodex to be around $2.6 billion.

After a protracted legal process, Ozer was eventually extradited from Albania to Turkey earlier this year, marking a significant development in the case.

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