Former Thodex CEO Faruk Fatih Özer has been found dead in a solitary cell at a high-security prison in Tekirdağ, Turkey. Local reports indicate he was discovered hanged in the bathroom. Authorities have preliminarily classified the incident as a suicide. The body has been sent for forensic examination, and the prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.
Özer, along with his sister and brother, was sentenced in September 2023 to 11,196 years, 10 months, and 15 days in prison each. The court also imposed a fine of 135 million Turkish lira (around $5 million). The charges included forming a criminal organization, fraud, and money laundering.
Investor losses tied to the collapse of the Turkish crypto exchange vary widely across sources. Court documents put the figure at $24 million, while Turkish media have reported as much as $2 billion. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has estimated losses at approximately $2.5 billion.
The Thodex case became a key factor in the tightening of cryptocurrency regulations in Turkey.
Özer’s death is likely to reignite public attention on the Thodex scandal and its broader implications for investor protection and crypto oversight in the country.