Faruk Fetih Özer – founder of the once-leading Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex – will spend seven months and 15 days in jail for failing to submit necessary documents to the Tax Inspection Board.
He also faces fraud charges about pocketing more than $2 billion in clients’ funds when the platform collapsed in 2021. While Özer supposedly escaped Turkey shortly after the event, he was arrested in Albania last summer. If found guilty on all counts, his punishment could be much more severe.
Özer Keep Maintaining his Innocence
As reported by Hürriyet Daily News, Özer’s case was heard at the Anatolian 17th Criminal Court of First Instance, where the magistrates initially sentenced him to one and a half years of imprisonment. They later reduced the punishment based on his behavior, social relations, and potential impact on his future.
In addition, the court postponed the announcement of the verdict against Özer and put off the order’s implementation.
Thodex’s founder once again claimed he was innocent, explaining he was not the company’s leader at the time of the alleged crime. He added that a previously appointed trustee had prevented him from showing the requested records.
The legal process against Özer started in October 2021 when the Turkish authorities urged him to present certain documents related to his activities in Thodex. The exchange’s founder failed to do so within the specified legal timeframe.
His Other Problems
Besides the aforementioned offense, Özer faces several other accusations that could send him to prison for the rest of his life.
Failed investors and prosecutors have insisted that he had a main role in Thodex’s collapse in the spring of 2021 when the platform ceased trading services. The 400,000 customers were unable to withdraw their funds, while Özer supposedly left the country with over $2 billion of users’ money.
The fugitive was detained in Albania in August 2022 after reportedly being on the run for more than a year. The Albanian and Turkish officials negotiated his deportation, and he arrived in his homeland in April. If found guilty, Özer faces the ridiculous 40,000 years in prison.
The 29-year-old denied all charges last month, claiming he was “framed.” He also believes some of his former employees at Thodex, including two of his siblings, were “unlawfully” imprisoned.
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