Incredible 'shepherd scheme' by fraud ring behind 750 million lira heist
In an operation conducted across 8 provinces centered in Istanbul, 27 people were apprehended for selling seized vehicles they had removed from impound lots using forged documents, and 49 vehicles were seized. Those taken into custody included enforcement officers, court clerks, and notary officials. It was discovered that the ring, which carried out a 750 million lira heist, also attempted to avoid detection by registering 7 luxury vehicles under the name of a shepherd. One of the stolen luxury vehicles belonged to Reza Zarrab.
İHA
Teams from the Auto Theft Bureau of the Istanbul Police Department's Public Security Branch, under the coordination of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, conducted a new operation aimed at identifying and apprehending perpetrators involved in “Establishing an Organization for the Purpose of Committing Crimes, Forgery of Official Documents, Qualified Fraud, and Misconduct in Office,” as well as seizing stolen and 'changed' (tampered) vehicles.
THEY PRETENDED TO HOLD AUCTIONS FOR PRE-SELECTED VEHICLES
It was determined that members of the criminal organization wrote official letters to the Turkish Notaries Union, falsely claiming that auctions had been held by the enforcement office for luxury vehicles that had been towed to impound lots across Turkey due to liens and seizure orders on their registration records. It was found that the organization members used these official letters to go to the notary, register the vehicles in their own names, and remove them from the impound lots. To avoid suspicion and prevent the vehicles from being returned to their original owners as required by law, they then transferred the vehicles a second time to other organization members. It was determined that the organization members later used public institutions and organizations as intermediaries to sell the vehicles to unsuspecting third parties, thereby defrauding them.
THEY REGISTERED 7 VEHICLES UNDER A SHEPHERD'S NAME
In the multi-faceted investigation, it was understood that members of the ring, which carried out a 750 million lira heist, registered 7 vehicles, including luxury cars, under the name of a shepherd named H.I. in exchange for money.
27 SUSPECTS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY
As a result of the efforts, an operation was carried out centered in Istanbul and extending to the provinces of Diyarbakır, İzmir, Manisa, Mersin, Bilecik, Kocaeli, and Kırıkkale to apprehend 27 suspects identified as having carried out 53 separate fraud incidents using these methods. In the simultaneous operation targeting the addresses of an assistant enforcement director (O.K.), enforcement officers, court clerks, and notary officials, 27 suspects were apprehended. It was also learned that 7 public personnel were among those taken into custody.
During the operations, the sale of 31 vehicles was prevented before they could be removed from the impound lots, while it was determined that 22 vehicles had been registered, sold, and removed from the lots by tow truck. 18 of the sold vehicles were seized. The detained suspects were referred to judicial authorities after their procedures at the police station were completed. While 2 suspects were released, judicial control measures were applied to 11 of them. 14 suspects, including assistant enforcement director O.K., were arrested and sent to prison.
THEY ALSO STOLE REZA ZARRAB'S AUTOMOBILE
It was learned that among the automobiles stolen by the ring was a luxury car registered to Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, whose name has frequently appeared in Turkey in connection with bribery and corruption allegations. It was learned that a letter was written to the Notaries Union on July 1 to have the liens on this automobile removed by pretending that a so-called auction had been held for it.