Former CEO of Thodex, Faruk Fatih Özer, has been arrested in Turkey after three months on the run following the closure of his cryptocurrency exchange. Thodex, once a major player in Turkey’s crypto market, left investors with losses totaling nearly $2 billion in cryptocurrency. Interpol issued a Red Notice for Özer, leading to his extradition from Albania back to Turkey to face charges.
Özer, who founded Thodex, was sentenced to seven months and fifteen days in jail for failing to provide evidence during his trial. Despite maintaining his innocence, Özer was found guilty of neglecting to provide the Tax Inspection Board with requested paperwork, citing that he was not an official at Thodex at the time. He claimed that a trustee had been appointed to manage the company on his behalf.
The prosecution in Özer’s case has requested a five-year jail term for “smuggling” under the Tax Procedure Law. However, the court reduced his original sentence of one year and six months to seven months and fifteen days. The decision was influenced by Özer’s positive social interactions and cooperative demeanor during the trial.
While facing tax-related and fraud allegations, Özer insists that he was framed by others involved. The pending hearing will address the fraud allegations against him.
In a separate report, Swedish crypto tax service Divly revealed that only 0.5% of crypto investors owe taxes for the year 2022. According to the analysis, Finnish crypto investors lead with 4.09% having made their cryptocurrency tax payments, followed by Australia at 3.65%.
It should be noted that search traffic statistics may not fully represent the actual number of crypto taxpayers, as not everyone who pays taxes searches for crypto tax-related information online.
The legal proceedings against Faruk Fatih Özer continue, shedding light on the challenges and potential risks associated with the cryptocurrency market.
