The creator of Thodex was found dead in his cell after a sentence of 11,000 years.

Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of the Thodex exchange, was found dead in a cell at the maximum security Tekirdağ F-Type prison, according to GDH Digital. Initial suspicions suggest he committed suicide, but the official cause is still under investigation.

Thodex, established in 2017, was once the leading exchange in Turkey, attracting hundreds of thousands of users. However, in April 2021, the exchange abruptly ceased operations, causing investors to suffer losses of hundreds of millions of dollars. Subsequently, Özer fled and was arrested in Albania, extradited back to the country in 2022.

In 2023, he was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison for fraud, money laundering, and running a criminal organization — one of the longest sentences in Turkish history. Özer's death closes the major scandal that once shook the country's cryptocurrency industry and led to tighter regulations.