The founder and former CEO of Thodex Crypto Exchange, Faruk Fatih Özer, was sentenced to seven months and fifteen days in prison for neglecting to submit tax documents requested during the trial.
Once one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey, Thodex abruptly wound down, and Özer fled to Albania. Özer was deported back to Turkey after Interpol issued a Red Notice to hold him accountable for the investors’ approximately $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.
While Özer maintained his innocence throughout the trial, which began on October 30, 2021, he failed to provide the Tax Inspection Board with the requested documents. He denied being a Thodex representative then, preventing him from delivering the requested volumes.
In addition, he asserted that a trustee was appointed to manage the business on his behalf during the specified period.
According to the Hürriyet Daily News, Özer’s prosecutor initially requested a five-year prison term for “smuggling” under the Tax Procedure Law.
The crypto entrepreneur was initially sentenced to one year and six months in prison, subsequently reduced to seven months and fifteen days. The sentence reduction is based on Ozer’s social relationships and overall behavior and conduct during the trial.
In addition to tax-related offenses, Özer is awaiting a hearing on allegations that he defrauded Thodex investors. The entrepreneur denies the allegations, claiming that the defendants have framed him.
Recent research by the Swedish crypto tax firm Divly indicates that 99.5% of crypto investors did not pay taxes in 2022.
Finland is projected to have the highest proportion of crypto investors who paid the required taxes on crypto in 2022, at 4.09 percent, with Australia following closely behind at 3.65 percent.
The report observes that search volume data may not accurately reflect the number of crypto taxpayers, as only some who pay taxes search online for crypto-related tax information.
