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Faruk Fatih Ozer gained recognition as the founder of Thodex which is a company he established in 2017. In April 2021 Ozer found himself at the center of an investigation into alleged “qualified fraud.” It was alleged that he had fled with $ 2 billion collected from the company’s 390,000 members and became a fugitive as a result . However the amount he assembled turned out to be $ 150 million . Now Faruk Ozer net worth is now clearly exceeding $ 150 million .
There is limited information about Ozer online as before fleeing he deleted any knowledge regarding him from the face of the internet. There are several claims online which say that he was either born in Kocaeli or Istanbul. His birth year is also not clear and claimed to be either 1993 or 1994. Those who are close to him say that he had studied in the USA. He started becoming active in the e-trading sector when he started his career. Later in life he was drawn to the software industry and even founded some games himself. In 2020 before focusing on his company Thodex he established a mobile game platform called Gamebridge. Owing to the several companies he founded he became wealthy enough.
His company Thodex which he founded in September 2017 operated not only in Turkey but other several countries including the UK, Myanmar and Azerbaijan. The company at first was a small residence that was based in Istanbul Bomonti. Ozer was the sole shareholder of Thodex. Two years later in February he moved the base to another part of Istanbul .
Fast forward to April 2021 and Ozer turned out to be a scammer who collected a staggering amount of $2 billion and escaped with this huge amount of money. There are 390,000 members of the company Thodex who were victimized and were in the search for justice. After the news broke Ozer deactivated his Instagram and Twitter accounts. The website of the company had already been deactivated by the authorities. He was captured in Albania in August 2022 where he escaped.
The Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
The Thodex exchange employed aggressive marketing campaigns to attract investors. At first they promised luxury car distributions through high-profile advertisements featuring famous Turkish models . But in April 2021 the exchange suspended trading and posted a vague message indicating the need for five days to address an unspecified external investment.
Following the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office a charge was prepared with the participation of 2,027 complainants . The charge revealed that these alleged crimes resulted in a loss of 356 million Turkish liras.
On April 23 2021 an international arrest warrant was issued for Faruk Fatih Ozer which led to him being arrested in Albania on August 30 2022. He was transferred to Turkey due to the court order that was given. He denies any wrongdoing and says that he has not defrauded anyone as stated in his statement to the police . In a separate case related to tax evasion Ozer was sentenced to 7 months and 15 days in prison under the Tax Procedure Law. However the court later reduced his sentence.
The Tax Evasion Case and Ozer’s Defense
The 2017 financial statements of Thodex were examined by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office . The Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul filed a 268 page charge against Ozer and 20 other defendants. On October 30 2021 a notification was sent to Ozer which requested the delivery of crucial business papers. Despite the fact that he was informed Ozer did not deliver the required papers in an appropriate amount of time.
Ozer claimed during the trial at the Istanbul Anatolian Criminal Court of First Instance that a trustee had been appointed and that he was not the business representative at the time of the alleged crime . He said that since he did not operate the firm himself he was unable to provide the records .
The Verdict and Ongoing Thodex Case
The Public Prosecutor requested a prison sentence of up to 5 years for Ozer on the charge of smuggling under the Tax Procedure Law . After considering the defense the court sentenced Ozer to 1 year and 6 months in prison for the tax evasion crime . However the court reduced the sentence based on some factors such as Ozer’s social relations, behavior during the trial and potential effects on his future . The final decision for Ozer’s crime was 7 months and 15 days in prison. The penalty is also postponed to a later time.
