Indictment against Polat couple returned

The indictment prepared as a result of the investigation in which Dilan Polat and her husband Engin Polat were arrested following an operation conducted in 6 provinces centered in Istanbul has been returned.

The Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, which evaluated the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding 16 suspects, including Dilan Polat, her husband Engin Polat, and their siblings Can and Sıla Doğu, returned the file to the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, stating that the case should be filed in a high criminal court.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

In operations conducted on November 1, 2023, and subsequently in 6 provinces centered in Istanbul, 24 suspects, including Dilan Polat and her husband Engin Polat, were detained.

A preliminary investigation report was prepared by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) regarding the suspects, including the Polat couple, whose digital materials and ledgers were seized during previous searches of their companies. The report determined that 200 million lira had entered the accounts through the method of issuing fake invoices for sham trade from 3 companies in liquidation to companies belonging to family members.

After it was determined that the money was transferred between companies owned by family members and finally collected in a firm named Milda Gayrimenkul, owned by Engin Polat, to purchase real estate and numerous vehicles, teams from the Istanbul Financial Crimes Investigation Bureau identified the suspects and conducted simultaneous operations at 43 addresses in Istanbul, Ankara, Yalova, Ordu, Kırklareli, and Manisa.

Continuing their work within the scope of the investigation, the teams determined that a medical company owned by Dilan and Engin Polat had granted naming rights to another firm in Ankara, and that 1 million 800 thousand lira in that firm's account was being attempted to be transferred to the personal accounts of the partners.

16 of the suspects, including Dilan Polat, Engin Polat, and Sıla Doğu, were arrested. The court had ordered the appointment of trustees to 27 companies.

In the monthly detention review on June 14, the Criminal Court of Peace ordered the release of Dilan Polat's siblings Can and Sinem Sıla Doğu, as well as Can Polat, Gökay Bekar, Halit Polat, Harun Abak, Metin Yılmaz, Mustafa Özalp, Nilgün Yılmaz, Uğurcan Ayyıldız, and Zekai Tepe under judicial control measures, while deciding to continue the detention of the other 5 suspects.

In the indictment prepared after the public prosecutor's office completed the investigation, it was requested that the suspects be punished for "laundering assets derived from crime," "illegal betting," "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crime," and "being a member of an organization established for the purpose of committing crime."

The indictment also requested the confiscation and transfer to the public of all assets, including real estate, vehicles, and similar property, belonging to the 31 companies included in the investigation.

The indictment, approved by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, had been sent to the Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

News Source: 12punto