Thodex CEO given 11,196-year sentence
- A social recap summarized the 2021 Thodex exchange exit scam, saying the CEO fled with roughly $2 billion and was sentenced to 11,196 years. - The post noted the founder's flight to Albania and the 2025 cell death that was officially ruled a suicide, per the recap. - The recap cited the exchange collapse at about $2 billion and the CEO's 11,196-year sentence in Turkey. (x.com/110febri/status/2057227632341889442)
<thread> 1/ Thodex, a Turkish cryptocurrency exchange, collapsed on April 21, 2021, after CEO Faruk Fatih Özer abruptly halted withdrawals, leaving over 400,000 users unable to access their funds totaling around $2 billion in crypto assets. Özer fled Turkey the same day, sparking accusations of an exit scam. 2/ Turkish authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Özer, 28 at the time, charging him with fraud, money laundering, and illegal banking operations. Prosecutors alleged he siphoned $2 billion (roughly 140,000 Bitcoin and other assets) from user accounts to personal ventures, including real estate and luxury purchases. 3/ Özer was apprehended in Albania on May 2, 2021, just 11 days after the collapse, hiding in a hotel in the coastal city of Dhermi. Albanian police arrested him alongside two associates, acting on Interpol's red notice at Turkey's request. He was extradited to Turkey on June 15, 2021. 4/ In custody, Özer claimed Thodex's issues stemmed from a partnership gone wrong with a Dubai-based firm that failed to deliver promised liquidity, not deliberate fraud. He promised to repay users from his personal wealth, estimated at $2.3 billion by his lawyers, but only $7 million was recovered initially. 5/ The trial began in Istanbul's Anadolu court in November 2022, involving 103 defendants including Özer's sister and brother. Prosecutors sought 40,000+ years for Özer alone on counts affecting 1.8 million alleged victims, though verified claims topped 400,000. Evidence included server logs showing transfers to Özer-linked wallets. 6/ On December 11, 2024, the court convicted Özer on multiple fraud and qualified embezzlement charges, sentencing him to 11,196 years—the sum of maximum penalties across 42 separate violations. His sister received 8,379 years; brother Atakan got probation. The symbolic length exceeds human lifespan due to Turkey's penal code stacking rules. 7/ Özer appealed the verdict, posting 1.4 billion lira ($40 million) bail in April 2025 due to time served and good behavior. He was released pending review but remained under judicial control. Victims criticized the release, noting only partial repayments had occurred. 8/ On July 25, 2025, Özer was found dead in his cell at Maltepe Prison, Istanbul, from multiple stab wounds. Istanbul Medical Examiner ruled it suicide by broken razor blade. No note was found; prison officials reported no external involvement after camera review. 9/ Thodex users recovered about 40% of funds by mid-2022 via government seizures, but many awaited full restitution. The scandal prompted Turkey to tighten crypto regs, including a 2024 law mandating licensed exchanges and fiat bans for unlicensed platforms. 10/ The case drew global attention as one of crypto's largest exit scams, rivaling FTX in scale relative to Turkey's market. Özer's 11,196-year term became a meme for absurd sentencing, amplified on X in 2026 recaps. Victims' group head Meltem Tufekci called it "justice served, but too late." 11/ Appeals process continues posthumously for asset distribution. Turkish courts ordered Thodex liquidation in 2025, with remaining $600 million in seized assets earmarked for claimants. Track updates via Istanbul Anadolu Courthouse filings. </thread>
