Crypto CEO Bags Record Breaking Prison Sentence For $2 Billion Theft
September 11 2023 - 4:00PM
NEWSBTC
Former CEO Faruk Fatih Özer of the bankrupt Turkish crypto exchange
Thodex has been given a record-breaking prison sentence for
stealing $2 billion in customer funds. Crypto CEO Sentenced To
11,196 Years Prison Sentence On Thursday, September 7, 2023, the
former CEO of Thodex, which was one of the biggest cryptocurrency
exchanges in Turkey, was reportedly sentenced to 11,196 years, 10
months, and 15 days in prison for several criminal charges
including fraud, leading a criminal organization, and money
laundering by the Anatolian 9th Heavy Penal Court. Related Reading:
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Shibarium The former CEO reportedly defrauded over 400,000 Turkish
customers of more than $2 billion in deposits when the exchange
went offline in April 2021, and Özer fled the country immediately
after the exchange went offline. The prosecutors had initially
requested a 40,562-year prison sentence for the former crypto
exchange CEO. However, the final verdict saw the sentence reduced
to 11,196 years, the longest sentence so far for a crypto crime.
Furthermore, a judicial fine of 135 million Liras was also imposed
on the former CEO, according to local media. Faruk Fatih Özer was
not the only one involved in the alleged crime. Following the
investigation, 83 people were arrested and detained, and four other
senior employees were jailed. When the case was thoroughly
investigated, Özer‘s sister Serap Özer, and brother Guven Özer,
were also found guilty of the same charges and were given the same
prison sentence respectively. Although these jail terms may seem
outrageous and unfamiliar to many, they are very common in Turkey
due to the country’s death sentence eradication since 2004. In
2022, TV cult preacher Adnan Oktar was convicted of fraud and
sexual assault and was sentenced to 8,658 years in prison along
with 10 of his followers. Total market cap collapses to $1
trillion | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on Tradingview.com
Former Thodex Boss Denies Criminal Claims The 29-year-old former
crypto boss was arrested in Albania in August 2022 where he was
serving jail terms after fleeing Turkey in April 2021 when his
crypto exchange first collapsed. Before his arrest, Özer
denied claims against him fleeing the country intentionally when
the Thodex exchange went dark. His response to the allegations was
that he was out of the country because of business meetings.
Özer was arrested after Interpol issued a red notice against him,
and was extradited back to Turkey in April 2023 to face the charges
against him. He was then detained by the police upon arrival and
held on seven charges. Related Reading: Crypto Analyst
Presents Bull Case For XRP Price To Hit $130, Here’s When Some of
the charges included establishing and managing an organization with
the purpose of committing a crime, fraud by using information
systems as a tool of banks or credit institutions, being a member
of an organization, fraud of merchants or company executives and
cooperative managers, and laundering the value of assets resulting
from crime, among others. The court believed that Özer had
fraudulent intentions right from the beginning and that the crypto
exchange Thodex was a criminal organization from the start.
However, Özer denied these claims against him and said Thodex was
just a crypto company that went bankrupt in 2021 and had no
fraudulent intention. He also told the court that he was very smart
and he would not have acted so amateurish if he was looking to be a
criminal. Featured image from CNBC, chart from
Tradingview.com
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