A Turkish crypto founder, Faruk Fatih Ozer, who had fled to Albania, and his two brothers have been sentenced to 11,196 years in jail each, as reported by the Anadolu state news agency. The trio was found guilty of money laundering, fraud, and establishing a criminal organization.
Prosecutors had initially requested a 40,562-year prison sentence for Faruk Fatih Ozer for his alleged involvement in money laundering and fraud. Ozer, the founder of Thodex, had fled Turkey in April 2021, with initial reports suggesting he absconded with $2 billion in investor assets, although this figure has been disputed.
According to the indictment, Ozer transferred 250 million Turkish liras (approximately $30 million at the time) in user assets to three secret accounts before fleeing Turkey, with a significant portion of the funds ending up in a bank in Malta. The Ozer brothers were accused of causing 356 million liras in damages to their clients.
The case garnered significant attention in Turkey, coinciding with a crypto boom in the country, which later subsided due to increased government regulation. Many Turks turned to cryptocurrencies as a hedge against the depreciation of the Turkish lira, which had been declining in value for over two years.
Faruk Fatih Ozer’s arrest in Albania on an international Interpol warrant further added to the notoriety of the case.