Thodex Founder Faruk Fatih Ozer Found Dead in Turkish Prison While Serving 11,000-Year Sentence

Faruk Fatih Ozer, the founder and former CEO of failed Turkish crypto exchange Thodex, has been found dead in his single-person cell at the Tekirdag F-Type High Security Closed ￰0￱ Takeaways: Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Ozer was found dead in his prison cell while serving an 11,196-year sentence. Ozer’s death ends one of Türkiye’s largest crypto scandals, involving the loss of over ₺356 million ($12.5 million) in investor ￰1￱ have launched an investigation as his case continues to shape Türkiye’s tightening stance on crypto ￰2￱ said Ozer was discovered hanging in his bathroom during an inspection, with early reports pointing to suicide as the likely cause, according to a recent report by local news outlet Türkiye ￰3￱ Founder Was Serving 11,196-Year Sentence Ozer had been serving a historic sentence of 11,196 years , 10 months, and 15 days after being convicted of multiple charges, including establishing and leading a criminal organization, aggravated fraud, and money ￰4￱ siblings, Guven and Serap Ozer, were convicted on similar charges and received identical ￰5￱ case remains one of Türkiye’s largest crypto-related fraud ￰6￱ in 2017, Thodex once ranked among the country’s leading crypto exchanges before abruptly halting operations in April 2021, citing a “temporary suspension.” Shortly after, Ozer fled to Albania, allegedly taking investors’ funds with ￰7￱ was arrested in Albania in August 2022 following an international manhunt and extradited to Türkiye in April ￰8￱ accused him of defrauding over 400,000 investors, alleging that ₺253.7 million ($8.9 million) worth of crypto assets were transferred to wallets controlled by Ozer and his associates, including accounts in ￰9￱ Crypto kingpin found HANGED in his prison cell — following sentence in Turkey of 11,190 years Faruk Fatih Ozer founded Thodex, later branded a 'criminal organization' of fraud and money laundering An investigation into his death has been opened ￰10￱ — RT (@RT_com) November 1, 2025 The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) reported that total damages reached ₺356 million ($12.5 million).

Thodex’s collapse triggered widespread outrage, marking a turning point for Türkiye’s crypto oversight and leading to calls for tighter regulation of the ￰11￱ the indictment prepared by the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, authorities outlined how Thodex lured users with promotions before abruptly freezing withdrawals. Twenty-one defendants were tried in the case, seven of whom were detained, while sixteen were acquitted for lack of evidence. Ozer’s death brings a grim end to a saga that shook Türkiye’s crypto landscape and left thousands of investors without ￰12￱ have launched a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his ￰13￱ Tops MENA Crypto Market With $200B in Annual Transactions As reported, Turkey has cemented its position as the largest cryptocurrency market in the Middle East and North Africa , recording nearly $200 billion in annual transactions, according to new data from ￰14￱ figure is roughly four times that of the United Arab Emirates, which ranked second with $53 ￰15￱ say much of Turkey’s activity remains driven by short-term trading rather than long-term ￰16￱ Chainalysis 2025 Crypto Adoption Report highlights how crypto has become both a financial refuge and a speculative outlet for Turks facing high inflation and a weakening ￰17￱ 2021, Turkey’s total inflows have exceeded $878 billion, making it one of the world’s most active ￰18￱ this growth, retail participation is cooling, with small and large retail transactions declining slightly as institutional investors dominate.