Faruk Fatih Özer, the former CEO of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, was found dead in a prison cell in the western Turkish city of Tekirdağ. An investigation is underway, and authorities are considering suicide.
The 31-year-old was serving an 11,196-year prison sentence for crimes including fraud and leading a criminal organization after the collapse of Thodex in 2021.
Özer founded Thodex in Istanbul in 2017 as a high school dropout. The platform grew to become one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey, with between 390,000 and 400,000 users. At the time, it was the only platform in the country to host cryptocurrency. Bitcoin-ATMs.
From March 15 to April 15, 2021, Thodex ran its latest promotional campaign and offered new users a free DogecoinThe campaign coincided with the Day Dogecoin»On April 20, 2021, when the price of Memcoin rose by 20%. Around 4 million tokens were distributed at that time.
It was on this day that users began experiencing transaction problems. Thodex stated that a cyberattack was the cause. The following day, trading ceased completely, and users were no longer able to access their accounts.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimated losses at $2,6 billion.
Following the company’s collapse, Özer fled to Albania. In April 2021, an international arrest warrant was issued for him. After a year on the run, he was arrested in Albania on August 30, 2022. Özer was sentenced to 11,196 years, 10 months, and 15 days in prison and fined 135 million Turkish lira.