The once-celebrated crypto mogul turned convicted fraudster, Faruk Fatih Ozer, the founder of the collapsed Turkey-based crypto exchange Thodex, has secured a partial legal victory.
On Thursday, the Istanbul 22nd Regional Court of Justice ruled to maintain Ozer’s detention on fraud charges. But it dropped allegations of organized crime, according to Ozer’s attorney, Sevgi Eraslan’s press statement.
Ozer, who was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison in September 2023 for allegedly defrauding over 400,000 investors out of $2 billion, remains behind bars despite the partial ruling in his favor.
Billion-Dollar Rug Pull? Turkish Bitcoin Exchange Goes Dark
Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex abruptly halted trading this morning without prior notice, locking up the funds of its 391,000 active traders. The exchange, which has operated since 2017, today shared a statement on Twitter, citing an unspecified outside investment that required the suspension of trading for 4-5 days. But this “may well be a scam,” Oğuz Evren Kılıç, a lawyer in the Turkish capital Ankara who today filed a legal complaint against the exchange, told Decrypt. Thodex CEO Far...
While Ozer remains in prison, his legal team vows to push for further leniency. “We will follow all legal channels to ensure a fair trial process,” the statement reads.
Erasalan described the court’s decision as a demonstration of the judicial process's evolving nature, noting each criminal charge must be evaluated “independently” rather than grouped together.
Thodex CEO Gets 11,000-Year Jail Sentence Over $2B Crypto Exchange Collapse
Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder and CEO of defunct Turkish crypto exchange Thodex, was sentenced to 11,196 years in jail on Thursday, as reported by local media sources. He was found guilty of aggravated fraud, leading a criminal organization, and money laundering. “I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth,” Özer told the court, as reported by Fortune. “That is evident in this company I established at the age of 22. I wouldn’t have acted so amateurishly if this were a criminal organizati...
“The presumption of innocence is one of the cornerstones of a democratic state governed by the rule of law,” the statement says. “No person can be declared guilty before the judicial process reaches a final decision.”
The statement also took aim at public perception and media narratives, arguing “comments and prejudices made before the trial process is completed not only undermine trust in the judiciary but also harm the fundamental rights of individuals.”
A $2 Billion Crypto Scandal That Shook Turkey
Ozer’s rise and catastrophic fall is a story that continues to haunt Turkey’s crypto space.
Founded in 2017, Thodex quickly became one of the country’s largest exchanges. It was processing more than $1 billion in daily trading volume at its peak.
But on April 20, 2021, the crypto exchange abruptly halted trading, locking 391,000 traders out of their accounts.
Billion-Dollar Rug Pull? Turkish Bitcoin Exchange Goes Dark
Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex abruptly halted trading this morning without prior notice, locking up the funds of its 391,000 active traders. The exchange, which has operated since 2017, today shared a statement on Twitter, citing an unspecified outside investment that required the suspension of trading for 4-5 days. But this “may well be a scam,” Oğuz Evren Kılıç, a lawyer in the Turkish capital Ankara who today filed a legal complaint against the exchange, told Decrypt. Thodex CEO Far...
Panic spread as reports emerged that Ozer had fled Turkey, triggering an Interpol Red Notice.
Investigators later discovered that Ozer had fled Turkey, allegedly smuggling a hardware wallet containing $2 billion in crypto.
He later claimed to have emptied it to repay victims before tossing it into the Ionian Sea—a claim that remains unverified.
After a 16-month manhunt, authorities arrested Ozer in Vlora, Albania, in August 2022.
By April 2023, he was extradited to Turkey and charged with fraud, money laundering, and operating a criminal organization.
Thodex CEO Denies Rug-Pull, Discloses Cyberattacks, Says “Funds Are Safe”
The CEO of Thodex, a Turkish cryptocurrency exchange that abruptly halted trading on Wednesday, has denied accusations of a rug-pull and intends to return funds to investors shortly. The real reason for halting trading and preventing withdrawals, CEO Fatih Faruk Özer said on Twitter yesterday, was to investigate suspicious abnormalities in 30,000 customer accounts discovered “during a three-month investment talk.” He did not say why the records were suspicious. Billion-Dollar Rug Pull? Turkish B...
In September 2023, Ozer and his siblings, Serap and Güven, were handed one of the longest prison sentences in Turkey’s judicial history—11,196 years each.
While initial reports pegged investor losses at $2 billion, the prosecutor’s indictment later revised the figure to $43 million (356 million lira) at the time, now worth about $13 million due to inflation.
He also denied wrongdoing, insisting that he had simply mismanaged the exchange—not deliberately defrauded investors.
Ozer’s prison sentence is set to expire in the year 13,221—but the Thodex scandal is far from over.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
