Turkish prosecutors have demanded a whopping 40,462-year prison sentence for a crypto crook who allegedly swindled at least GBP 10 million from investors.
Accused Faruk Fatih Ozer and six other defendants have gone on trial on fraud charges at the 9th Heavy Penal Court of Anatolia in Istanbul.
Ozer is charged with “establishing an organisation with the aim of committing crimes”, “fraud by using information systems as a means of banking or credit institutions”, and “laundering the assets derived from fraud and crimes committed by merchants, company executives, and cooperative managers”.
Prosecutors have requested a stiff sentence of 12,142 to 40,462 years for the 29-year-old, who was caught in Albania on 30th August last year after going on the run.
After a ruling by the Durres Court of Appeal, Ozer was returned to his home country on 20th April and formally arrested by the Turkish authorities three days later.
The defendant told the judge at his first hearing on 12th July: “I have never, ever devised any malicious plans against my customers.
“I apologise to all customers for their financial losses. I have suffered the greatest financial loss.
“If I wanted to steal customers’ assets, I would have done it without getting caught in four years.
“I promise to compensate for the financial losses of the customers when I am released from prison.”
Ozer is the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex.
According to prosecutors, he and the other defendants used the platform to swindle investors out of a whopping TRY 356 million (GBP 10.1 million).
However, earlier reports said Ozer had fled Turkey with USD 150 million (GBP 114 million) swindled from users of his exchange.
There are a total of 21 defendants in the case, a number of whom, including Ozer, are in custody.
