The founder of cryptocurrency exchange platform Thodex, who fled Turkey with his clients’ assets, was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison on Thursday evening, Turkish media reported.
According to Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu, the same Istanbul court handed down the same sentence to two brothers of the main suspect, Faruk Fatih Ozer.
The founder of the Thodex platform, wanted by an Interpol Red Notice, was arrested in Albania in August 2022, sixteen months after fleeing Turkey.
He was extradited to Turkey last April.
Turkish authorities have accused Faruk Fatih Ozer of absconding with two billion dollars in assets belonging to nearly 400,000 customers.
The platform suspended its operations overnight after posting a cryptic message indicating that it would take five days to process an unspecified external investment.
Thodex ran a major advertising campaign to attract investors, essentially promising some of them luxury cars.
The platform also offered incredible discounts on Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency originally parodied but boosted by the interest of the multi-billionaire and boss of Tesla and X Elon Musk – among others.
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