Crypto Exchange Founder Thodex, Faruk Fatih Badzer Found Dead

Faruk Fatih Zezer, founder of crypto exchange Thodex (Photo; Doc. InsideBitcoin)

JAKARTA - The founder of the crypto exchange Thodex Faruk Fatih Zezer was found dead in his cell at Tekirdamen No. 1 F Type High Security Closed Penal Institution on November 1, while serving a sentence of 11,196 years in prison.

According to reports from local media, Faruk was found hanging on bedrock attached to his bathroom door. Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office, Tekirdamen, has conducted an investigation, and his body has been sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute for an autopsy.

Thodex is one of the largest crypto exchanges in Turkey. Founded by Faruk in 2017, the exchange quickly gained popularity and in four years has attracted around 400,000 users.

Thodex's rapid success was largely due to the urgent need for Turkish people to crypto as a hedge against high inflation and a sharp decline in lira value.

The Thodex crypto exchange suddenly closed its service in April 2021. At that time, more than 2 billion US dollars (Rp 33.45 trillion at an exchange rate of Rp. 16,725) in the form of crypto assets had been stored by customers on the platform.

Faruk fled Turkey after the close of the exchange and hid in Albania until he was finally arrested by Interpol in August 2022. In April 2023, he returned to Turkey and faced with seven charges, including establishing an organization with malicious intent and money laundering proceeds from crimes.

During the initial stages of the investigation, 83 people, including Faruk's brothers and several Thodex executives, were detained for questioning. However, only 21 of them remained at the end of the trial, with a penalty of up to 40,564 years in prison.

Until finally, Faruk and his sister Serap ERUPTER and his brother Göven Badzer were sentenced to 11,196 years, 10 months, and 15 days in prison for the offense.