A disgraced Turkish crypto founder, Faruk Fatih Ozer, and his two brothers have been sentenced to 11,196 years in jail each, as reported by the Anadolu state news agency. Prosecutors had sought a 40,562-year prison sentence for Ozer for charges including money laundering, fraud, and establishing a criminal organization.
Ozer defended himself during the trial, stating, “If I were to establish a criminal organization, I would not have acted so amateurishly,” according to Anadolu.
His brothers, Serap and Guven, received the same lengthy prison sentence. The verdict was issued after a brief trial.
Turkey is known for imposing massive prison sentences, particularly after abolishing the death penalty in 2004 as part of its efforts to join the European Union.
Ozer was originally reported to have fled Turkey in April 2021 with $2 billion in investor assets, although the accuracy of this figure has been disputed. Prosecutors claimed that Ozer transferred 250 million liras (approximately $30 million at the time) in user assets to three secret accounts when he fled Turkey in April 2021, with a significant portion of the funds ending up in a bank in Malta. The indictment alleged that the Ozer brothers caused 356 million liras in damages to clients.
This case gained attention in Turkey, coinciding with a crypto boom that has since waned due to increased government regulation. Many Turks turned to various cryptocurrencies as a hedge against the devaluation of the Turkish lira that had been ongoing for more than two years.
Faruk Fatih Ozer also attracted additional public attention after being photographed meeting with ultranationalist pro-government figures. He was arrested in Albania last year on an international arrest warrant issued by Interpol.
