Thodex CEO sentenced to 7 months for failing to submit tax documents

Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder and former CEO of now-defunct crypto firm Thodex, has been sentenced to seven months and 15 days for not providing papers needed during the trial. Özer held his innocence throughout the trial by claiming he was not a corporate official at the time of the alleged conduct and a trustee had been appointed to run the business during the time.

Thodex CEO maintains his innocence amid allegation

Before Thodex abruptly shut down and the founder fled to Albania, it was once among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey. After Interpol issued a Red Notice, he was deported to Turkey and arrested on April 20 to face charges for the investors’ nearly $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency. The founder then made his first defense on June 12, whereby 21 defendants were present.

The first request from Özer’s prosecutor was for a five-year prison term for “smuggling” per the Tax Procedure Law. The Thodex founder then received a one-year, six-month sentence which has now lowered to seven months, fifteen days. Azer’s interpersonal relationships, general conduct, and demeanor throughout the trial were highlighted as factors contributing to the sentence reduction.

Meanwhile, Özer awaits a hearing on the purported claims of cheating Thodex investors and tax-related issues. The entrepreneur has been denying the claims saying the defendants framed him.

The Thodex debacle

Thodex, which had been in operation since 2017, unexpectedly stopped trading in April 2021, claiming an undisclosed outside investment that called for a four- to five-day stoppage in trade. A day later, Özer disclosed that hackers had caused the firm to suspend trading, but he stressed that investor funds were secure and would be returned soon. However, this never happened. The firm received complaints from thousands of Thodex users who claimed they could not access their accounts and were concerned that their funds would be lost forever.

The Turkish authorities then took the company’s computers, froze its accounts, and imprisoned 62 workers on the same day. Although the founder had already fled to Albania at this time, the Turkish government was getting ready to extradite him. However, the manhunt went on for months. Ultimately, he was located in Vlor, Albania’s third-most populated seaside city, whereby the results of the biometric testing confirmed his identity.

In April 2021, it came to light that Thodex had transferred $125 million in Bitcoin to the American exchange Kraken before he closed the platform. Whitestream, a blockchain tracking company, claimed it seemed to be a “cash out operation,” with executives stealing money from customers.

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