LAHORE MIRROR — A Turkish cryptocurrency executive and his two siblings have received a combined prison sentence of 11,196 years for defrauding investors of millions of dollars, reported by BBC on Saturday.
Faruk Fatih Ozer, aged 29, fled to Albania in 2021 after the collapse of his Thodex cryptocurrency exchange. He was subsequently extradited back to Turkey in June and found guilty of multiple charges, including money laundering, fraud, and organized crime.
During his trial in Istanbul, Ozer boldly asserted, “I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth. That is evident in this company I established at the age of 22.”
His sister, Serap, and brother, Guven, were also found guilty of similar charges and received separate sentences. The convictions related to their collective actions affecting 2,027 victims, resulting in the cumulative prison term.
It’s worth noting that Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004, leading to the imposition of unusual lengthy prison sentences.
In a somewhat similar case, a television cult preacher named Adnan Oktar was sentenced to 8,658 years in prison in 2022 for fraud and sex offenses, along with 10 of his supporters who received the same punishment.
Prosecutors in Ozer’s case had initially sought a staggering 40,562 years in prison for him.
Cryptocurrencies gained popularity in Turkey as a hedge against the significant depreciation of the lira over two years ago. Thodex, established in 2017, emerged as one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
Faruk Fatih Ozer, a financial prodigy, achieved national recognition through his associations with pro-government figures. However, the platform’s collapse in April 2021 led to the disappearance of investor assets.
Ozer went into hiding and was eventually apprehended in Albania under an international warrant. He was subsequently extradited following an extensive legal process.
Turkish media reported that Ozer had fled with assets totaling $2 billion.
According to the prosecutor’s indictment, Thodex investors incurred losses amounting to 356 million Turkish liras, equivalent to $43 million at the time of the exchange’s collapse. However, due to inflation and the depreciation of the lira, this amount has since dwindled to $13 million.
