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Thodex boss Faruk Fatih Ozer found dead in Turkish prison!
Faruk Fatih Ozer, ex-CEO of Thodex crypto exchange, was found dead in a Turkish prison cell. Investigations are ongoing.
Thodex boss Faruk Fatih Ozer found dead in Turkish prison!
Faruk Fatih Ozer, the former CEO of failed cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, was found dead in his prison cell in Tekirdag, Türkiye. Loud Crypto.news Ozer was 31 years old at the time of his death and was serving an 11,196-year prison sentence for fraud and criminal activity. Authorities suspect suicide and an investigation has been launched.
Thodex, founded in Istanbul in 2017 by Ozer, quickly grew into one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in Turkey. It had between 390,000 and 400,000 users and was the only platform in the country to offer Bitcoin ATM services. As part of a recent promotion that ran from March 15 to April 15, 2021, around 4 million Dogecoins were offered for free to new users. This action coincided with the so-called “Dogeday” on April 20, 2021, when the price of Dogecoin increased by 20%.
The Thodex case and its consequences
On April 20, 2021, Thodex users experienced disruptions in trading. The platform attributed this to a cyber attack. The following day, trading stopped completely and users lost access to their accounts. According to an initial indictment by the prosecutor, losses were estimated at around $24 million, while reports in Turkish media even spoke of losses as high as $2 billion. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis estimated losses at $2.6 billion.
After the collapse of Thodex, Ozer fled to Albania. An Interpol arrest warrant was issued against him in April 2021. He was arrested in Albania on August 30, 2022 and an Albanian court ordered his extradition to Türkiye in 2022. He was finally extradited to Turkey in April 2023, where he was arrested by police upon arrival. On September 7, 2023, an Istanbul court found Ozer guilty of multiple counts of fraud and leading a criminal organization. The verdict included a sentence of 11,196 years, 10 months and 15 days and a fine of 135 million Turkish lira.
The circumstances of Ozer's death raise questions and could have far-reaching implications for the cryptocurrency industry in Turkey. The Thodex case and the associated losses remains a central point in the discussion about regulations and the handling of crypto platforms in the country.