Turkish Crypto Fugitive Busted: 40,000+ Year Sentence?

Faruk Fatih Özer, the CEO of the now-defunct Turkish crypto exchange Thodex, has been captured by authorities in Albania and is likely to be extradited to Turkey, as confirmed by Turkey's Interior Ministry.

Before ceasing its operations unexpectedly in April 2021, Thodex was among Turkey's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

The sudden shutdown left more than 400,000 users without access to their funds.

Local media reported Özer escaped to Albania shortly after the incident. He had been evading arrest ever since.

Following the collapse of Thodex, Özer released a statement explaining he had contemplated turning himself in or ending his life, but chose to flee the country to "remain alive and fight, work and repay my debts," as quoted in a Bloomberg article.

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"The day I repay all my debt, I will return to my country and give myself to justice," he added.

The total losses caused by Thodex's shutdown have been subject to debate.

Chainalysis estimated the loss to be approximately $2.52 billion, accounting for 90% of the global value lost to rug pulls in 2021.

However, an April 2022 indictment placed the losses at more than $24 million.

A Turkish prosecutor involved in the indictment requested a cumulative prison sentence of 40,564 years for Özer and his associates.

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