Sam Bankman-Fried was not the only one to be handed a lengthy sentence for perpetrating a cryptocurrency scam this week.

However, the 25-year sentence faced by the former FTX boss pales into insignificance compared to the 11,196 years facing Faruk Fatih Ozer, the former boss of failed Turkish cryptocurrency exchange Thodex.

Thodex was established in 2017  and grew to be one of the biggest crypto exchanges in Turkey.

However, in 2021 the exchange collapsed and Ozer absconded to Albania along with investors' assets worth roughly US$43m.

He was extradited to Turkey last year on charges of money laundering, fraud and organised crime.

The court also charged Ozer's brother and sister and gave them equally long sentences.

One reason for Ozer's lengthy sentence is the fact that he was charged with 2,027 separate crimes, representing every individudal that was defrauded. 

Another possible reason was Ozer's apparent lack of contrition. During his trial, he told the court that he "would not have acted so amateurishly" if his intent had been criminal.

"I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth," he said. "That is evident in this company I established at the age of 22."

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