Faruk Fatih Özer, the CEO of the crypto money exchange Thodex, which left thousands of victims behind with a profit of 356 million, appeared before the judge.
Özer, who was brought to Turkey from Albania, made his first defense in the ongoing Thodex trial.
Saying that he did not defraud anyone, Özer stated that a conspiracy was set against him and that he would explain everything in detail in his defense.
Expressing that he was single, graduated from high school and is currently unemployed at the time of identification, Özer stated that he did not remember his monthly income from his previous job.
Faruk Fatih Özer's Defense
"I was running a company before, I don't remember my monthly income. Today I will answer the slanders that have been thrown against me for 2 years.
This puts a heavy burden on me. The allegations in the media and the indictment are unfounded. I did not defraud anyone, I was framed. I will explain everything in detail in my defense.
I started my business life with e-commerce. Afterwards, I saw that I would gain income thanks to my social circle and I turned the company in this direction.
I started mobile transactions with the software developers that I added to my body. My whole life was intertwined with the digital world to establish a cryptocurrency exchange.
When I looked at the rival companies, I realized that they were missing and I decided to grow in this field. In 2017, I took a place in Şişli Bomonti with a capital of 400 thousand liras and started working.
I established a coin company in Şişli on 14.09.2017 with a paid-in capital of 100 thousand liras. I also present the document I received from the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. Lighting text was presented to users who entered the Thodex site. It was determined whether the person was the right person with the identity information of the members of the site and the desired image.
I think my sister and brother have been unlawfully deprived of their freedom for 2 years. The company has no other official than me. I was the only person with decision-making authority. All decisions taken on the company belong to me. My sister Serap Özer did not have any authority in the company. The company has no other official than me. Thodex's transactions with the bank were done automatically. I was sending the transactions made on the company to the banks in the form of an excel table, checking it myself every week. I was the only one doing this so that there were no security holes. I want the detention of my employees for 2 years to be remembered as a black mark in our legal system.
My brother Güven Özer did not put even 1 lira in the company.
My company was hacked and I lost 16 million liras. In the membership agreement, I stated that I was not responsible for any damage, and the members had become members knowing this. I had the right to bankruptcy. I have also filed lawsuits against these cyber attacks. While I was able to regain some of it, I lost some of it.
My trip abroad was to take small steps to sell Thodex and buy a new game company. I decided to sell the company because of the loss I suffered.
I met with two investors, one in Italy and one in the Balkans. In the meantime, I had an article prepared for the site in the form of maintenance work. I was making a loss with panic buying and selling requests. That's why I wanted to freeze transactions for a while."
How Many Years in Prison for Özer?
Özer was charged with "establishing and managing an organization with the aim of committing a crime", "Fraud by using information systems as a tool of banks or credit institutions" and "Fraud of merchants or company executives and cooperative managers and laundering the assets arising from crime" in total from 12 thousand 164 years to 40 thousand. He is asked to be punished with imprisonment up to 564 years.