Thodex cryptocurrency boss jailed for 11,196 years in Turkey for fraud

[weeksy]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66752785

Now that is proper jail time.

A Turkish cryptocurrency boss and his two siblings have been jailed for 11,196 years each for defrauding investors of millions of dollars.

Faruk Fatih Ozer, 29, fled to Albania in 2021 with investor assets after his Thodex exchange suddenly collapsed.

He was extradited back to Turkey in June and found guilty of money-laundering, fraud and organised crime.

Ozer told the court he would "not have acted so amateurishly" if his intent was criminal, state media reported.

"I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth," the Anadolu agency quoted him as saying.

"That is evident in this company I established at the age of 22."

The brief trial in Istanbul also found his sister Serap and brother Guven guilty of the same charges.

Turkish news agencies said that the defendants were sentenced separately for multiple crimes against 2,027 victims, leading to the total number of years in the judgement.

Such extraordinary prison sentences are common in Turkey since the abolition of the death penalty in 2004.

Adnan Oktar, a TV cult preacher, was jailed for 8,658 years in 2022 for fraud and sex crimes. Ten of his followers received the same sentence.

[Cousin Jack]

Let us hope Turkish prisons are more secure tjan Wandsworth.