Faruk Fatih Özer
Faruk Fatih Ozer (born 1993 or 1994) is a Turkish criminal, former cryptocurrency trader, and former fugitive.
He founded Thodex exchange, before its collapse in 2021. Ozer was sentenced to 11,196 in prison in 2023.
Biography
Faruk Fatih Ozer was born 1993 or 1994[1] and has two brothers, Serap and Guven.[2]
He dropped out of high school[3] before founding the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex in Istanbul[4] in 2017.[1]
Thodex became one of Turkey's biggest crypto exchanges[1] and Ozer became a celebrity in Turkey, photographed associating with politicians Mevlut Cavusoglu and Suleyman Soylu.[5]
Thodex collapsed in April 2021.[1] Ozer flew to Albania on 20 April 2021[6] and Turkish authorities launched an investigation into the firm on 22 April[6] before accusing the company of defrauding 390,000 investors of approximately US$2 billion.[7]
An Interpol international arrest warrant was issues for Ozer in April 2021,[4] leading to his arrest in Albania on August, 30.[8][9] He was extradited to Turkey in April 2023.[10]
At an Istanbul court, on 7 September 2023,[10] Ozer and both his brothers[10][3] were each sentenced to 11,196 years in prison after being found guilty of various charges including fraud.[10] Prosecutors state that the crimes had 2,027 victims.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Thodex cryptocurrency boss jailed for 11,196 years in Turkey for fraud". BBC News. 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ "Turkish crypto boss sentenced to 11,196 years in jail". RFI. 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ a b Bilgic, Taylan (2023-09-08). "Boss of Failed Crypto Exchange Gets 11,000-Year Sentence". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ a b "Albania extradites fugitive crypto boss - Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. 2023-04-20. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ "Turkish Crypto boss sentenced to over 11,000 years in jail over money laundering". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ a b "Turkish crypto founder flees with reported $2 bln - Latest News". Hürriyet Daily News. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ "Turkey probes cryptocurrency exchange for possible $2B fraud". AP News. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ "Thodex'in kurucusu Faruk Fatih Özer tutuklanarak cezaevine gönderildi". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 2023-04-23. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ "Turkish cryptocurrency boss arrested in Albania - Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ a b c d "Crypto boss sentenced to over 11,000 years - Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2023-09-08.