Overview
- State broadcaster TRT reported that Özer was found dead in his cell in Tekirdağ, prompting a judicial investigation.
- Officials have not confirmed a cause of death, and early reports suggesting suicide remain unverified pending forensic results.
- Özer was serving an 11,196-year sentence following a September 2023 conviction for aggravated fraud, leading a criminal organization, and money laundering.
- Thodex collapsed in April 2021 after halting operations without warning, leaving hundreds of thousands of users locked out and losses estimated as high as $2.6 billion by Chainalysis.
- After fleeing Turkey, Özer was arrested in Albania in August 2022 and extradited in 2023; co-defendants, including his siblings, also received lengthy prison terms, and the scandal spurred tighter oversight of crypto exchanges in Turkey.