Faruk Fatih Özer, the CEO and founder of the now-defunct Turkish cryptocurrency change Thodex, alongside together with his sister Serap Özer and brother Güven Özer, has been sentenced to an astonishing 11,196 years, 10 months, and 15 days in jail, as reported by native media. Additionally, a considerable judicial fantastic of 135 million Turkish liras (roughly $5 million) has been imposed on them.
Thodex was amongst Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges till it abruptly ceased operations in April 2021, coinciding with Faruk Özer’s disappearance. This sudden shutdown left over 400,000 members unable to entry deposits amounting to $2 billion in cryptocurrencies. Faruk Özer had fled to Albania however was arrested in August 2022 following an Interpol crimson discover issued in opposition to him.
Thodex was amongst Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
Several costs
By April 2023, Özer had been extradited to Turkey and detained by the police upon his arrival. He confronted a number of costs, together with establishing and managing a corporation with legal intent, being a member of a legal group, fraudulent actions involving data methods of banks or credit score establishments, fraud focusing on retailers, firm executives, and cooperative managers, in addition to cash laundering related to belongings obtained by legal means.
Upon the case’s revelation, Özer’s brother, sister, and 4 different high-ranking workers had been imprisoned, whereas not less than 83 people had been detained in the course of the investigation. The subsequent trial concerned 21 defendants dealing with potential sentences totaling as much as 40,564 years in jail.
The verdict
The verdict, delivered by the Anatolian ninth Heavy Penal Court, resulted within the acquittal of 16 out of the 21 defendants, with 4 of the seven beforehand jailed people being launched on account of inadequate proof. The remaining defendants acquired various jail sentences for his or her involvement in numerous legal actions.
Thodex’s collapse had a major impression in Turkey, the place cryptocurrencies had been sought as a hedge in opposition to hovering inflation and the speedy devaluation of the nationwide foreign money, the lira. The case underscores the significance of regulatory oversight and safety within the cryptocurrency trade to guard traders and preserve belief within the sector.
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