Thodex
A Turkish exchange that abruptly halted withdrawals in April 2021 as founder Faruk Fatih Özer fled abroad. Loss estimates are disputed (the indictment cited ~$43M; media reported up to ~$2B). Özer was sentenced to 11,196 years in 2023.
Also known as: Thodex, Faruk Fatih Ozer, Faruk Fatih Özer
Summary
Thodex was one of Turkey's largest cryptocurrency exchanges before it abruptly stopped allowing withdrawals in April 2021. Founder Faruk Fatih Özer left the country, and hundreds of thousands of users were left unable to access funds. [1][2]
Disputed loss figures
Loss estimates vary widely. The BBC reported that the prosecutor's indictment estimated investor losses at 356 million lira (about $43 million at the time), while media outlets reported Özer had fled with assets reported at up to about $2 billion. [1][2]
Outcome
Özer was arrested in Albania, extradited to Turkey, and in September 2023 sentenced — along with two siblings — to 11,196 years in prison for fraud, money laundering, and leading a criminal organization. [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Sources (2)
See also
Gala Games exploitTokensOn May 20, 2024 an attacker abused a privileged minter account on the GALA token contract to mint 5 billion GALA (≈$200M+ nominal) and dumped ~600M of them for ~$22M of ETH before Gala froze the address. Gala Games called it an internal access-control failure; the attacker later returned the ~$22M.
HEX / PulseChain (Richard Heart)ProjectsCrypto projects (HEX, PulseChain, PulseX) created by Richard Heart (Richard Schueler). In July 2023 the U.S. SEC sued him for offering unregistered securities that raised $1B+ and for allegedly misappropriating ~$12M for luxury goods (including a 555-carat diamond). A court dismissed the case in 2024 for lack of U.S. jurisdiction; there was no finding of wrongdoing and Heart denies the allegations.
This page was last updated on Jun 15, 2026. View revision history.
