Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder and former CEO of Thodex, has been sentenced to seven months and fifteen days in prison for failing to provide necessary documents during the ongoing trial regarding Thodex’s operations. This verdict comes three months after Özer’s arrest in Turkey.
According to a report by Hürriyet Daily News, the prosecutor initially requested a five-year prison term for Özer on charges of “smuggling” under the Tax Procedure Law. However, the court set his sentence at one year and six months and later reduced to seven months and fifteen days. The reduction in sentence was influenced by his general conduct during the trial.
Thodex was once one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey. The exchange abruptly halted operations on April 21, 2021, citing an undisclosed outside investment that necessitated a temporary suspension of trading for four to five days.
Shortly after, Özer claimed that the platform had fallen victim to hackers, leading to the suspension of trading. He assured investors that their funds were secure and would be returned promptly. However, this promise went unfulfilled, and thousands of Thodex users were unable to access their accounts.
Consequently, Turkish authorities seized the company’s computers, froze its accounts, and detained 62 employees. However, Özer had fled to Albania by this time. He was placed on Interpol’s red notice and was later arrested in Albania on August 30, 2022. After his arrest, the process for his extradition to Turkey began, and he arrived there on April 20, 2023. Three days later, he was taken into custody.
The court trial for the Thodex case has been ongoing since October 30, 2021. Throughout the proceedings, Özer refused to provide the necessary documentation to the Tax Inspection Board, claiming that he was not a Thodex representative. Özer argued that a trustee had been appointed to manage the company on his behalf during the period of the allegations.
Özer is accused of defrauding Thodex investors of approximately $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency. During his first court hearing on June 12, 2023, which involved a total of 21 defendants, seven of whom were already in jail, Özer claimed that he was framed by the defendants and denied all charges. Currently, Özer awaits another court hearing regarding these allegations alongside the tax-related accusations.
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