Thodex founder Ozer sentenced to 11,196 years in prison

Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison. The founder of the system, Faruk Fatih Özer, was extradited from Albania to Turkey on Thursday, April 20, on the grounds that he defrauded thousands of people through the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex. The trial of 21 defendants, 7 of whom are under arrest, including Faruk Fatih Özer, continued at the Anatolian 9th High Criminal Court. At the final hearing, 5 defendants, including the arrested defendant Faruk Fatih Özer, were brought from prison, while 2 arrested defendants participated via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS). The lawyers of the parties were also present at the hearing. The public prosecutor, who announced his opinion at the hearing held on Tuesday, July 18, requested that the defendant Faruk Fatih Özer be sentenced to a total of 12,142 to 40,462 years in prison for the crimes of "laundering assets originating from crime", "aggravated fraud" and "establishing and managing an organization". “The numbered days are over, the end of the road is in sight” Özer, who made his final defense, said, “This is not a country governed by tyranny. The injustice that we and our family have experienced must end. Thodex is just a company and it has gone bankrupt. Thodex is not a criminal organization but a company. It is very clear that the suspects in the file have only been victims for more than 2 years. The fact that the trial process in this file has reached this stage is due to my photos with several ministers and deputies from Turkey on the internet. I have never had any relationship with any of the ministers or deputies mentioned. I would like to end my defense with a verse from Musa Eroğlu’s folk song ‘The end of the road is in sight’. I have passed over the world, life is a deep breath. Look, the end of the road is in sight from the circle of the heavens. The Grim Reaper himself comes, he neither says lord nor master. The numbered days are over, the end of the road is in sight.” The court panel, which announced its decision, stated that the defendants in custody Faruk Fatih Özer, Güven Özer and Serap Özer were subjected to the following verse: ‘Establishing, managing and being a member of an organization’, While separately sentenced to a total of 11,196 years, 10 months, and 15 days in prison for the crimes of ‘aggravated fraud’ and ‘laundering of asset values,’ a judicial fine of 135 million TL was imposed on the defendants Faruk Fatih Özer, Güven Özer, and Serap Özer in respect of one complainant. 16 defendants were acquitted The court panel ruled that 16 defendants were acquitted of the crime of ‘aggravated fraud’ due to insufficient evidence. In addition, the court ruled that 4 defendants be released together with the verdict. The other defendants were given prison sentences of varying amounts for various crimes. An investigation was launched ex officio on April 22, 2021 by the Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office upon a tip-off that users could not access their accounts on the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex and that the owner of the company had fled abroad. The prepared indictment includes 2,027 complainants. A prison sentence of 12,164 to 40,562 years was sought for 21 defendants, 6 of whom were under arrest, including Faruk Fatih Özer, on charges of "establishing and managing an organization to commit a crime," "fraud by using information systems, banks or credit institutions as a tool," and "laundering assets resulting from fraud and crime by merchants or company managers and cooperative managers."