Former CEO Faruk Fatih Özer of the bankrupt Turkish crypto trade Thodex has been given a record-breaking jail sentence for stealing $2 billion in buyer funds.

Crypto CEO Sentenced To 11,196 Years Jail Sentence

On Thursday, September 7, 2023, the previous CEO of Thodex, which was one of many largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey, was reportedly sentenced to 11,196 years, 10 months, and 15 days in jail for a number of felony costs together with fraud, main a felony group, and cash laundering by the Anatolian ninth Heavy Penal Court docket.

The previous CEO reportedly defrauded over 400,000 Turkish clients of greater than $2 billion in deposits when the trade went offline in April 2021, and Özer fled the nation instantly after the trade went offline.

The prosecutors had initially requested a 40,562-year jail sentence for the previous crypto trade CEO. Nevertheless, the ultimate verdict noticed the sentence diminished to 11,196 years, the longest sentence thus far for a crypto crime. Moreover, a judicial superb of 135 million Liras was additionally imposed on the previous CEO, in keeping with native media.

Faruk Fatih Özer was not the one one concerned within the alleged crime. Following the investigation, 83 folks have been arrested and detained, and 4 different senior staff have been jailed.

When the case was completely investigated, Özer‘s sister Serap Özer, and brother Guven Özer, have been additionally discovered responsible of the identical costs and got the identical jail sentence respectively.

Though these jail phrases could seem outrageous and unfamiliar to many, they’re quite common in Turkey because of the nation’s demise sentence eradication since 2004. In 2022, TV cult preacher Adnan Oktar was convicted of fraud and sexual assault and was sentenced to eight,658 years in jail together with 10 of his followers. 

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Former Thodex Boss Denies Felony Claims

The 29-year-old former crypto boss was arrested in Albania in August 2022 the place he was serving jail phrases after fleeing Turkey in April 2021 when his crypto trade first collapsed. 

Earlier than his arrest, Özer denied claims towards him fleeing the nation deliberately when the Thodex trade went darkish. His response to the allegations was that he was in another country due to enterprise conferences. 

Özer was arrested after Interpol issued a pink discover towards him, and was extradited again to Turkey in April 2023 to face the costs towards him. He was then detained by the police upon arrival and held on seven costs. 

Among the costs included establishing and managing a company with the aim of committing against the law, fraud through the use of data techniques as a software of banks or credit score establishments, being a member of a company, fraud of retailers or firm executives and cooperative managers, and laundering the worth of property ensuing from crime, amongst others.

The courtroom believed that Özer had fraudulent intentions proper from the start and that the crypto trade Thodex was a felony group from the beginning.

Nevertheless, Özer denied these claims towards him and mentioned Thodex was only a crypto firm that went bankrupt in 2021 and had no fraudulent intention. He additionally informed the courtroom that he was very good and he wouldn’t have acted so amateurish if he was trying to be a felony.