Faruk Fatih Özer, the CEO and founder of the now-defunct Turkish cryptocurrency change Thodex, alongside along 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 local media. Moreover, a considerable judicial high quality 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 towards him.
Thodex was amongst Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
A number of prices
By April 2023, Özer had been extradited to Turkey and detained by the police upon his arrival. He confronted a number of prices, together with establishing and managing a corporation with felony intent, being a member of a felony group, fraudulent actions involving data techniques of banks or credit score establishments, fraud focusing on retailers, firm executives, and cooperative managers, in addition to cash laundering related to property obtained by felony means.
Upon the case’s revelation, Özer’s brother, sister, and 4 different high-ranking staff had been imprisoned, whereas at the very least 83 people had been detained in the course of the investigation. The following trial concerned 21 defendants going through potential sentences totaling as much as 40,564 years in jail.
The decision
The decision, delivered by the Anatolian ninth Heavy Penal Court docket, resulted within the acquittal of 16 out of the 21 defendants, with 4 of the seven beforehand jailed people being launched as a consequence of inadequate proof. The remaining defendants acquired various jail sentences for his or her involvement in numerous felony actions.
Thodex’s collapse had a big influence in Turkey, the place cryptocurrencies had been sought as a hedge towards hovering inflation and the fast devaluation of the nationwide forex, the lira. The case underscores the significance of regulatory oversight and safety within the cryptocurrency trade to guard traders and keep belief within the sector.
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