Key Takeaways
- The sentence comes after Özer’s failure to submit requested documents during the trial, which had been ongoing since mid- 2021.
- The founder allegedly halted trading in 2021, leaving over 400,000 members unable to access their deposits, which amounted to $2 billion worth of crypto.
Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of the Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, has been handed a prison sentence of seven months and 15 days by the Turkish court. The sentence comes as a result of Özer’s failure to submit requested documents during the trial, which had been ongoing since mid-2021.
Özer’s legal troubles began in April 2021 when Thodex, the crypto exchange he founded and served as CEO, abruptly halted trading and withdrawals amid reports of police raids. The incident left more than 400,000 members unable to access their deposits, which amounted to a staggering $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.
In the wake of the exchange’s sudden closure, Özer became the subject of an Interpol red notice, leading to his arrest in Albania in August 2022. Prior to his detention, he had fled to Albania, leaving his exchange’s members in the dark about their investments.
Throughout the trial, Özer maintained his innocence, asserting that he was not the official representative of Thodex at the time, making it impossible for him to present the requested documents to the Tax Inspection Board. According to his claims, a trustee had been appointed to run the business during the period in question.
In addition to the tax-related charges, Özer also faces allegations of defrauding Thodex investors. Özer maintains that he was framed while adding that the company’s transactions were carried out automatically, whereas he was the “authorized” person to supervise that activity:
“I personally checked the transaction made on the company platform to the banks every week in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. I was the only one doing this to ensure there were no security holes.”.
Despite his denials, the court found him guilty of failing to comply with theauthorities’ requests for documentation. Initially facing a prosecutor’s request for a five-year prison sentence for “smuggling” under the Tax Procedure Law, Özer’s sentence was eventually reduced to seven months and 15 days. The reduction was influenced by factors such as his social relations and behavior throughout the trial.
