Faruk Fatih Özer

Faruk Fatih Özer (1993 or 1994 – 1 November 2025) was a Turkish criminal and cryptocurrency trader, known for founding and running the Thodex exchange platform. In September 2023, Özer was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison for crimes including fraud.[1][2]

Faruk Fatih Özer was born in 1993 or 1994[2] and had two siblings, his sister Serap and brother Güven.[3][4]

He dropped out of high school[5] before founding the Thodex cryptocurrency exchange in Istanbul[6] in 2017.[2] Thodex became one of Turkey's biggest crypto exchanges[2] and Özer became a celebrity in Turkey, photographed associating with politicians including Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Süleyman Soylu.[7]

Thodex collapsed in April 2021.[2] Özer shut down his social media profiles[8] and flew to Albania on 20 April 2021.[9] Turkish authorities launched an investigation into the company on 22 April[9] before accusing it of defrauding 390,000 investors out of approximately US$2 billion.[8] Özer rejected the fraud allegation and said his company had temporarily closed its trading platform to investigate a cyber-attack.[8]

An Interpol international arrest warrant was issued for Özer in April 2021,[6] leading to his arrest in Albania on 30 August 2022.[10][11] He was extradited to Turkey in April 2023.[12]

At an Istanbul court, on 7 September 2023,[12] Özer was fined 135 million Turkish liras (approximately US$5 million) and sentenced to 11,196 years in prison after being found guilty of various charges including fraud.[12] His brother and sister were among the 20 others accused,[13] and were both issued with the same sentences.[13][5][3] Prosecutors stated that there were 2,027 victims.[2][14]

On 1 November 2025, Özer was found dead in Tekirdağ F Type High Security Closed Penitentiary.[14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Crypto boss sentenced to more than 11,000 years in prison". The Seattle Times. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Thodex cryptocurrency boss jailed for 11,196 years in Turkey for fraud". BBC News. 8 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Turkish crypto boss sentenced to 11,196 years in jail". Radio France Internationale. 8 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  4. ^ Scatena, Jenna. "He Emptied an Entire Crypto Exchange Onto a Thumb Drive. Then He Disappeared". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b Bilgic, Taylan (8 September 2023). "Boss of Failed Crypto Exchange Gets 11,000-Year Sentence". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Albania extradites fugitive crypto boss – Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. 20 April 2023. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Turkish Crypto boss sentenced to over 11,000 years in jail over money laundering". Middle East Eye. 8 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Turkey probes cryptocurrency exchange for possible $2B fraud". AP News. 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Turkish crypto founder flees with reported $2 bln – Latest News". Hürriyet Daily News. 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Thodex'in kurucusu Faruk Fatih Özer tutuklanarak cezaevine gönderildi". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 23 April 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Turkish cryptocurrency boss arrested in Albania – Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. 30 August 2022. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "Crypto boss sentenced to over 11,000 years – Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. 8 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  13. ^ a b Shepherd, Büşra (7 September 2023). "Thodex'in kurucusu Faruk Fatih Özer'in dolandırıcılık davasında karar". Anadolu Agency (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Turkish Cryptocurrency Boss found dead in prison". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 1 November 2025. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  15. ^ "Thodex kurucusu Faruk Fatih Özer, cezaevinde ölü bulundu". TRT Haber (in Turkish). 1 November 2025. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.