Thodex CEO sentenced to Turkish prison for failure to submit tax documents

3 months after Faruk Fatih Özer– the founder and former CEO of Thodex– was apprehended in Türkiye, he got a jail sentence of 7 months and 15 days for stopping working to send documents requested throughout the trial.Thodex was once one of the biggest crypto exchanges in Türkiye prior to it unexpectedly shut down and Özer ran away to Albania. Following a Red Notice by Interpol, Özer was extradited back to Türkiye to be held responsible for the investors roughly $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.While Özer maintained innocence throughout the trial given that Oct. 30, 2021, he stopped working to submit the requested files to the Tax Inspection Board.

As reported by Hürriyet Daily News, Özers prosecutor at first looked for a five-year jail sentence for “smuggling” under the Tax Procedure Law. The factors for the sentence reduction consist of Özers social relations, and overall habits and conduct throughout the trial.In addition to tax-related charges, Özer has also been implicated of defrauding Thodex financiers and waits for a hearing on the supposed accusations. The entrepreneur continues to deny the allegations, declaring that he has actually been framed by the defendants.Related: Turkey to utilize blockchain-based digital identity for online public servicesA current study from Swedish crypto tax firm Divly reveals that 99.5% of crypto investors did not pay taxes in 2022.