(Istanbul) The founder of the cryptocurrency exchange platform Thodex, who fled Turkey with his clients’ assets, was sentenced Thursday evening to 11,196 years in prison, Turkish media reported.

Two brothers of Faruk Fatih Özer, the main accused, were sentenced to an identical sentence by the same Istanbul court, according to the Turkish state news agency Anadolu.

The founder of the Thodex platform, wanted with an Interpol red notice, was arrested in Albania in August 2022, sixteen months after fleeing Turkey.

He was extradited to Turkey last April.

Turkish authorities accused Faruk Fatih Özer of fleeing with two billion dollars in assets belonging to nearly 400,000 users.

The platform suspended its activities overnight after posting a mysterious message indicating that it needed five days to process an unspecified external investment.

Thodex had led a major advertising campaign to attract investors, promising in particular to offer luxury cars to some of them.

The platform had also made spectacular discounts on dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that was originally a parody, but has since been inflated by the interest – among others – of the multi-billionaire and boss of Tesla and X Elon Musk.