Operation in 11 provinces: 2.5 billion TL fraud network dismantled

Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya shared the details of the organized crime operation, which was conducted with its center in Aydın and covered 11 provinces, on his social media account. According to the information provided by Minister Yerlikaya, 35 suspects, including 2 in leadership positions, were apprehended in raids targeting the criminal organization led by K.U. and H.İ.K.

Of the apprehended suspects, 33 were arrested, while one was released under judicial control conditions. The processing of another suspect is ongoing.

Yerlikaya included the following statements in his announcement:

"In our operations conducted by our Gendarmerie against the 'Organized Crime Group' led by K.U. and H.İ.K., which had a transaction volume of 2.5 billion TL in their accounts across 11 provinces centered in Aydın, we apprehended 35 suspects, including the 2 ringleaders. 33 were arrested. A judicial control decision was issued for 1. The processing of the other is ongoing."

According to information that emerged within the scope of the investigation, the organization members defrauded people they reached via social media by directing them to fake stock market applications. It was determined that they laundered the proceeds of crime they obtained through shell companies they established under the guise of "investment, finance, and crypto consulting."

Among the evidence seized in the simultaneous raids carried out in Hatay, Istanbul, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Muğla, Antalya, Izmir, Niğde, and Sinop, with the center in Aydın, are 10 vehicles, 16 plots of land, 2 houses, 814 bank accounts, and 35 cryptocurrency accounts worth approximately 300 million TL. Additionally, a large amount of digital material and documents were confiscated.

Judicial proceedings have been initiated against the suspects for the crimes of "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes," "qualified fraud using information systems," and "laundering assets derived from crime."

News Source: İHA