Faruk Fatih Ozer, the ex-CEO of the now-defunct Turkish cryptocurrency change Thodex, has been handed a staggering jail time period for defrauding buyers. Ozer’s conviction has come after a chronic authorized battle stemming from the collapse of Thodex in 2021, throughout which he absconded with hundreds of thousands of {dollars} price of buyers’ property.
Ozer, who fled to Albania following the collapse of Thodex, was not too long ago extradited again to Turkey to face expenses associated to cash laundering, fraud, and arranged crime. In a ruling that despatched shockwaves by means of Turkey’s monetary and cryptocurrency sectors, a Turkish courtroom sentenced Ozer to an astonishing 11,196 years in jail for his involvement within the fraud scheme.
Notably, Ozer’s brother and sister had been additionally implicated within the fraudulent actions and had been handed equally prolonged jail phrases by the courtroom. The magnitude of Ozer’s sentence is partly attributed to the sheer scale of the fraud he orchestrated, affecting 1000’s of buyers. Ozer confronted a staggering 2,027 separate expenses, every representing a person defrauded throughout Thodex’s collapse.
Moreover, Ozer’s lack of regret in the course of the trial proceedings doubtless contributed to the severity of his sentence. Regardless of the overwhelming proof towards him, Ozer reportedly displayed an unrepentant angle in courtroom, even suggesting that his actions, which led to the lack of hundreds of thousands for buyers, weren’t felony in nature.
The Thodex scandal bears putting resemblance to comparable cryptocurrency fraud instances, together with the notorious FTX fraud masterminded by Sam Bankman-Fried, who was not too long ago sentenced to 25 years in jail. These instances underscore the rising considerations surrounding the regulation and safety of the cryptocurrency market, notably within the face of rampant fraud and exploitation.