Thodex: Turkish Crypto Exchange Owner Runs Off After Stealing $2 Billion

[JollyGood]

Another crypto exchange just closed down. Turkish media said Faruk Fatih Ozer ran off to Albania stealing $2bn from over 391,000 investors that used his Thodex crypto exchange.

Turkey has issued an international arrest warrant for the founder of Thodex and they arrested 62 people in eight different Turkish cities because they had links to Faruk Fatih Ozer but he claimed to be in Albania for business meetings. Interpol issued a red notice for Faruk Fatih Ozer on Friday 23rd April 2021.

Turkish authorities have asked Albania to arrest and extradite Faruk Fatih Ozer from the Tirana, Albania.

Nearly 400,000 users of Thodex will suffer now. They inadvertently brought the Lira rate to $1 = 8.38 TRY with increasing inflation damaging the economy, many invested in Bitcoin and the economical situation worsened and now nearly 400,000 of them are probably not going to see their funds again.

I wonder if any of the Turkish members here used Thodex, I hope they have not lost funds. Turkish authorities are coming down hard on crypto exchanges. They already forced the closure of Vebitcoin last week and this could have played a part in Faruk Fatih Ozer to steal the funds and leave the country.

Here are some links giving much more details:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56865119
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56871403
https://www.dailysabah.com/business/finance/collapses-of-exchanges-vs-turkish-crypto-boom

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[Theb]

We still don't have the complete story here as we are seeing different stories coming from different sources. Some news sources pointed out that out of the 391,000 users Thodex has only around 30,000 of its users are affected by it and some reports are saying that Thodex itself has all of its bank accounts frozen as ordered by the authorities. I'm guessing that the Turkish users have a better chance of recovering all of their money as compared to what happened with Gerald Cotten and his QuadrigaCX where he took all of their money down to his grave.

[The Cryptovator]

I was surprised when I see the news in Google trend news fees in my browser. I just thought to create a thread and notice OP already created once use the forum search button. However, really this is bad news for crypto users. If exchanges continue like this skip with user's funds, then peoples will lose faith in a centralized exchange. Seems the website is live with notice and according to the founder all the allegations against him are just a smear campaign. According to him, users shouldn't be affected. Not sure how true it is. Hope users will get back their fund somehow.

[Rikafip]

I wonder if any of the Turkish members here used Thodex, I hope they have not lost funds. Turkish authorities are coming down hard on crypto exchanges. They already forced the closure of Vebitcoin last week and this could have played a part in Faruk Fatih Ozer to steal the funds and leave the country.

Out of curiosity I checked "Thodex" in bitcointalk search and  Turkish members indeed used that scammy exchange, unfortunately, as there are bunch of threads made in months before this exit scam. Hopefully people didn't loose a lot, but what a shitshow..

[JollyGood]

We still don't have the complete story here as we are seeing different stories coming from different sources. Some news sources pointed out that out of the 391,000 users Thodex has only around 30,000 of its users are affected by it and some reports are saying that Thodex itself has all of its bank accounts frozen as ordered by the authorities. I'm guessing that the Turkish users have a better chance of recovering all of their money as compared to what happened with Gerald Cotten and his QuadrigaCX where he took all of their money down to his grave.

Yes we do not have the full story but whatever happens we all hope innocent investors do not end up losing their funds, that would be disastrous for them and for the crypto community going forward. Reports are that Turkey will ban crypto because it is affecting their economy badly but we have to wait for official announcements.

As long as the owner of Thodex (Faruk Fatih Ozer) does not die and does not fake his death then the QuadrigaCX drama will not be repeated. I did create a thread about QuadrigaCX  a long time ago: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5106159.0

I was surprised when I see the news in Google trend news fees in my browser. I just thought to create a thread and notice OP already created once use the forum search button. However, really this is bad news for crypto users. If exchanges continue like this skip with user's funds, then peoples will lose faith in a centralized exchange. Seems the website is live with notice and according to the founder all the allegations against him are just a smear campaign. According to him, users shouldn't be affected. Not sure how true it is. Hope users will get back their fund somehow.

With the website showing a notice and access to log in removed things are not looking good. As long as the database is available then there is evidence to have rightful owners get their funds returned but we do not know the intentions of Thodex owner Faruk Fatih Ozer.

Out of curiosity I checked "Thodex" in bitcointalk search and  Turkish members indeed used that scammy exchange, unfortunately, as there are bunch of threads made in months before this exit scam. Hopefully people didn't loose a lot, but what a shitshow..

$2 billion is a huge amount and nearly 400,000 users being scammed is just sad for a country with that many crypto enthusiasts.

Maybe Thodex owner Faruk Fatih Ozer panicked and ran off to Albania with the funds as soon as another crypto exchange (Vebitcoin) was ordered by the Turkish government to be shut down. It is possible the Turkish government took actions when Thodex owner Faruk Fatih Ozer was not expecting it so he was blindsided. He might have run off with the funds on the spur of the moment and let us not forget there is a possibility maybe he was using customer funds for personal use and if he did not run off then his theft would have been uncovered.

[JollyGood]

I did not know about the arrest and extradition of the ring leader but what cannot be denied is many have been left out of pocket as a result of the Thodex scam that is why the Turkish prosecutors would want heavy sentences to show others what they can expect if they try to scam people.

The impact Bitcoin and other crypto trading is having on the Turkish economy is hard to calculate but people began investing in Bitcoin as means to escape the falling Turkish Lira prices and to invest in something that could bring bigger returns. The government has given crypto businesses space to even open up crypto walk-in shops allowing customers to simply walk in and trade crypto but it is keeping a close eye on them.

Today, I saw the news that it turns out that the runaway CEO of the exchange was caught and extradited from Albania to Turkey. Now a court session is taking place and the prosecutor requested 40,000 years in prison for Faruk Fatih Ozer (!!!).

Article here: Turkey Seeks Thousands of Years Jail Time for Missing Crypto CEO

Serious punishments. Now, if such punishments were practiced everywhere for any crypto scammers, then maybe there would be less deception. In total, 21 defendants are involved in the case, and the prosecutor requested such a huge period for each.

[Poker Player]

This is another case of "not your keys, not your coins", While I understand that there are people who may temporarily have funds on exchanges for trading, and it doesn't have to be all stolen cryptocurrencies, there will also be some fiat that people deposit to buy crypto later.

...what cannot be denied is many have been left out of pocket as a result of the Thodex scam that is why the Turkish prosecutors would want heavy sentences to show others what they can expect if they try to scam people.

The problem with these cases is that usually not all that is owed is recovered and, I do not know what the law will be like in Turkey, but I assume that large creditors (e.g. banks) will be paid first if money is recovered. In addition, it will take time for those who had some funds there to recover something.

A pity because I suppose there will be cases where they need that money.

[JollyGood]

This whole Thodex scam shows us what we as crypto enthusiasts have always known (but it sometimes it slips to the back of the mind) is that no exchange is 100% safe. If some can cover losses from hacks or alleged hacks by refunding victims then others are susceptible to greed by the exchange owners or operators.

According to a report 391,000 registered users of Thodex have lost funds. He ran off with $2 billion which also was credited as being the biggest fruad in the history of Turkey. If they recover some of the funds the issue as you rightly stated would be who gets their share first. In most cases though the simple investor trying to make some money will probably end up in the bottom of the list maybe receiving nothing.

This is another case of "not your keys, not your coins", While I understand that there are people who may temporarily have funds on exchanges for trading, and it doesn't have to be all stolen cryptocurrencies, there will also be some fiat that people deposit to buy crypto later.

...what cannot be denied is many have been left out of pocket as a result of the Thodex scam that is why the Turkish prosecutors would want heavy sentences to show others what they can expect if they try to scam people.

The problem with these cases is that usually not all that is owed is recovered and, I do not know what the law will be like in Turkey, but I assume that large creditors (e.g. banks) will be paid first if money is recovered. In addition, it will take time for those who had some funds there to recover something.

A pity because I suppose there will be cases where they need that money.

[SFR10]

Today, I saw the news that it turns out that the runaway CEO of the exchange was caught and extradited from Albania to Turkey. Now a court session is taking place and the prosecutor requested 40,000 years in prison for Faruk Fatih Ozer (!!!).

Article here: Turkey Seeks Thousands of Years Jail Time for Missing Crypto CEO

Are you sure that they already caught him? Based on the article in question ^{["Ozer remains wanted with a red notice"]} and the latter part of its headline ^{["Missing Crypto CEO"]}, I think he's still on the loose ^{[unfortunately]}...
^{Btw, there's an extra space [before "jail"] in the above link that leads to an invalid URL.}

[stompix]

Are you sure that they already caught him? Based on the article in question ^{["Ozer remains wanted with a red notice"]} and the latter part of its headline ^{["Missing Crypto CEO"]}, I think he's still on the loose ^{[unfortunately]}...

In fact, I didn't fully understand it. Some sources simply write that the prosecutor simply requested such a term for the head of the exchange, and some wrote that he would soon appear in court and be sentenced. But nowhere does it say exactly whether there will be a verdict in person or in absentia. Whether he was caught for sure or not, I only assumed based on the Russian sources I read.

He is still wanted:
https://www.interpol.int/How-we-work/Notices/View-Red-Notices#2021-27622
Unless this is updated other news is simply rumors, Interpol will be the first to know, not the press.

Laws in almost all countries allow somebody to be sentenced even without him not being in the country or detained by the police, otherwise, some criminals would just get away due to statute of limitations laws.

[JollyGood]

All the news reports I found clearly state he is still missing and wanted even though Turkish police and prosecutors travelled to 4 countries in the search to track him down and bring him to justice:

https://thecoinbaskets.com/the-thodex-indictment-calls-for-40564-years-in-prison-for-the-ceo/
https://beincrypto.com/thodex-indictment-seeks-40k-years-prison-founder-still-missing/

The link you provided cannot be opened now because the page has been removed.

Article here: Turkey Seeks Thousands of Years Jail Time for Missing Crypto CEO

In fact, I didn't fully understand it. Some sources simply write that the prosecutor simply requested such a term for the head of the exchange, and some wrote that he would soon appear in court and be sentenced. But nowhere does it say exactly whether there will be a verdict in person or in absentia. Whether he was caught for sure or not, I only assumed based on the Russian sources I read.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

All the news reports I found clearly state he is still missing and wanted even though Turkish police and prosecutors travelled to 4 countries in the search to track him down and bring him to justice:

Most news outlets today have been covering a story of his arrest



https://finbold.com/thodex-crypto-exchanges-ceo-arrested-for-allegedly-defrauding-investors-of-2-7-billion/

[JollyGood]

Thank you for posting an update on this huge story. I read up on this recently and was surprised to discover ex-CEO Faruk Fatih Ozer could face up tp 40,000 years in prison because of a technicality on concurrent sentences and sizeable financial amounts.

If reports are accurate he was on the run from Turkish authorities for around a year but eventually he got caught and when extradited he will face a lengthy jail sentence probably even if her were to try to make a plea bargain. His arrest will probably bring in some crypto which can be returned to rightful owners but it will be a long drawn out process which will not really have any benefits to victims now.

All the news reports I found clearly state he is still missing and wanted even though Turkish police and prosecutors travelled to 4 countries in the search to track him down and bring him to justice:

Most news outlets today have been covering a story of his arrest



https://finbold.com/thodex-crypto-exchanges-ceo-arrested-for-allegedly-defrauding-investors-of-2-7-billion/

[OmegaStarScream]

Update: So it's official. The CEO has been extradited and detained by the police in Turkey[1]

I wasn't following the case up close, does anyone know what happened to the funds? I only know about the ~13M they found in a Maltan exchange (not sure which one).

[1] https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/04/20/collapsed-turkish-crypto-exchange-thodexs-ceo-faruk-ozer-extradited-arrested-in-istanbul-report/

[JollyGood]

Here was a report from almost a year ago about 84 people including the siblings of the CEO being arrested and about 6 people being jailed: https://www.reuters.com/technology/turkey-jails-6-crypto-probe-including-thodex-ceos-siblings-courthouse-2021-04-30/

In the interim there were some occasional about Faruk Fatih Ozer and Thodex but then came the news of this arrest: https://www.reuters.com/world/fugitive-turkish-crypto-fraud-suspect-arrested-albania-resort-2022-08-30/

Only now was he finally extradited to Turkey and he was (obviously) arrested on arrival. He claims only 30,000 of the 400,000 Thodex investors were affected and claims reports/estimates of $2.6 billion losses were "unfounded": https://www.ibtimes.com/founder-failed-crypto-exchange-thodex-arrested-turkey-after-2-years-run-3687988

Like you, I did not find any reports of where the stolen funds were sent to. I am sure some of the funds must have gone on lavish parties and unnecessary spending associated with scammers who come in to phenomenal amounts of wealth almost overnight but I did not find any report of the where the missing funds went or how much can be traced back to Faruk Fatih Ozer using Thodex as his personal pocket money.

[OmegaStarScream]

So another update: it looks like the CEO was sentenced to.... 11,000 years in jail. Yes, you read that right[1] (and so did his two siblings). The article didn't really mention anything about the stolen funds or the affected users.

[1] https://decrypt.co/155522/thodex-ceo-gets-11000-year-jail-sentence-over-2b-crypto-exchange-collapse

[NotATether]

So another update: it looks like the CEO was sentenced to.... 11,000 years in jail. Yes, you read that right[1] (and so did his two siblings). The article didn't really mention anything about the stolen funds or the affected users.

[1] https://decrypt.co/155522/thodex-ceo-gets-11000-year-jail-sentence-over-2b-crypto-exchange-collapse

Good. Let him rot.

See, that's how you dish out justice to exchange exit-scammers.

Now let's see what happens to SBF next.

[CryptSafe]

So another update: it looks like the CEO was sentenced to.... 11,000 years in jail. Yes, you read that right[1] (and so did his two siblings). The article didn't really mention anything about the stolen funds or the affected users.

[1] https://decrypt.co/155522/thodex-ceo-gets-11000-year-jail-sentence-over-2b-crypto-exchange-collapse

I literally do not expect that they would give him this sentence because the turkey I know would have executed him if they are to go by their own belief but however, he has caused a whole lot of damages. I believe people lost their lives as a result of his carelessness. Life savings gone and to the point of that incidence having a side effect on the turkish Lira.  If truly he was sorry about the situation and what he had told them was the reality he would not have excaped to another country. He scammed people point blank.

The judgement is a funny one though. Literally, they are not going to allow him or his body go out of the prison if it happens he dies while serving his jail terms. The jail term sounds ridiculous.

[stompix]

So another update: it looks like the CEO was sentenced to.... 11,000 years in jail. Yes, you read that right[1] (and so did his two siblings). The article didn't really mention anything about the stolen funds or the affected users.
[1] https://decrypt.co/155522/thodex-ceo-gets-11000-year-jail-sentence-over-2b-crypto-exchange-collapse

Lol, 11 196 years, 10 months, and 15 days in prison!
I really wonder how did they ended up with that number, ran it through a year>days calculator but it doesn't seem to be anything special even looking from that side, and neither does it from the ending point of the sentence, if he would have been sentenced till 10 000 AD it would have made sense. I imagine those last 15 days, you just scribbled 1000 walls full of lines counting those years and now you have 15 days left, that would be excruciating.

Also funny is that they sentenced him to 100-lifetime prisons but only a $5 million fine, if you don't expect him to get out why hot slap him with a fine that will also be impossible to pay, like the 2 billion in damages he created?


 

[JollyGood]

So another update: it looks like the CEO was sentenced to.... 11,000 years in jail. Yes, you read that right[1] (and so did his two siblings). The article didn't really mention anything about the stolen funds or the affected users.

[1] https://decrypt.co/155522/thodex-ceo-gets-11000-year-jail-sentence-over-2b-crypto-exchange-collapse

Thank you for the post, I did not know the sentencing was today. First and foremost the mind absolutely boggles first that the 11,196 year jail sentence.

Second, the numbers do not add up when you look at the numbers given for defendants and the numbers acquitted and the numbers jailed. If they started off with 21 defendants, there is no way the numbers add:

"The eventual trial saw 21 defendants facing up to 40,564 years in prison. 16 of the 21 defendants were acquitted and four of the seven persons jailed were freed due to a lack of evidence."

Good. Let him rot.

See, that's how you dish out justice to exchange exit-scammers.

Now let's see what happens to SBF next.

Özer and his siblings had around $2 billion in the exchange when it collapsed. Many Turks used the exchange as a substitute to traditional banks because the Lira was extremely weak at the time. Around 400,000 investors became victims overnight.