Faruk Fatih Ozer, founder of the collapsed Turkish cryptocurrency platform Thodex, has been discovered deceased in his prison cell while serving an unprecedented 11,000-year sentence. The former CEO was incarcerated following one of Turkey’s most significant financial fraud cases, which involved the abrupt shutdown of Thodex exchange in 2021. The closure resulted in approximately $2 billion in investor losses affecting nearly 400,000 users. Ozer had initially fled Turkey following the platform’s collapse but was later extradited from Albania to face justice. Turkish authorities confirmed his death occurred in a single-occupancy cell, though the specific circumstances surrounding his passing remain under investigation. The Thodex case represented one of the most substantial cryptocurrency exchange failures in Turkish history, prompting increased regulatory scrutiny of digital asset platforms within the country. The sentencing, which totaled 11,000 years when combining multiple convictions, was seen as a landmark decision in financial crime prosecution. This development marks a significant conclusion to a case that had drawn international attention to cryptocurrency regulation and investor protection measures in emerging markets.
