Revealed in MASAK report: Former Galatasaray player Wesley Sneijder was a secret partner of the Comanchero gang

New details have emerged regarding the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into the international armed organized crime group Comanchero.

ASSETS OF 55 SUSPECTS WERE SEIZED

Following operations conducted last November in cooperation with the Narcotics Crimes Investigation Branch and MASAK, within the scope of crimes including "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes," "international production and trafficking of narcotic substances," and "laundering of assets derived from crime," the assets of 55 suspects, valued at approximately 4.5 billion lira, were seized by court order.

WESLEY SNEIJDER'S NAME ALSO INVOLVED

While 18 of the suspects, led by Hakan Reis (who changed his surname from 'Ayık' to Reis) and Duax Ngakuru, were arrested and 22 were released under judicial control, it has emerged that the name of former Dutch footballer Wesley Sneijder, who once played for Galatasaray, was also involved in the Comanchero's money laundering activities.

MASAK TRACKED THE MONEY LAUNDERING

According to the report in Sabah, a detailed report prepared by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) as part of the investigation has been submitted to the prosecutor's office.

The report points out that the organization laundered millions of dollars obtained from drug trafficking through companies established in Turkey. According to the MASAK report, one of these individuals was Yunus Emre Borhan, who was caught in last year's operation, and his companies.

RED NOTICE-LISTED POULTRY FARMER EMERGES FROM ECON

According to the findings, Borhan established a real estate company named Borhan Group Yatırım A.Ş. on January 1, 2014, with a capital of 50 thousand lira. By 2018, the company's capital was increased to 1 million lira.

The company had declared losses since the day it was founded. Borhan Group Yatırım, together with another construction firm, established another company named Econ Gayrimenkul with a capital of 50 thousand lira. 75 percent of this company was under the control of Borhan Group, and 25 percent was under the control of the other partner.

THE SNEIJDER DETAIL

It was determined that one of the employees of the Econ Gayrimenkul Yatırım company was Hakan Arif Tavukçu, who was wanted with a red notice and subsequently captured; it was found that Tavukçu had an insurance record at the company in question, but no assets or banking transactions were encountered.

According to the MASAK report, one of the people who helped Tavukçu commit the crime of laundering assets derived from crime was Yunus Emre Borhan, the boss of Borhan Group. Borhan was caught on the radar because he was connected to this company named Econ.

Borhan's companies were examined one by one by MASAK. An important detail caught attention in the flow of money coming into and going out of these companies. That detail was the famous Dutch number 10 Wesley Sneijder, who played for Galatasaray for years from 2013 to 2017.

1 MILLION 181 THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM SNEIJDER

MASAK inspectors, who scrutinized Borhan's accounts, determined that 1 million 951 thousand dollars, which corresponds to almost all of the money transferred to Borhan's accounts in dollars, came from 4 separate individuals and entities.

These were Wesley Sneijder, Borhan's employee Ali Bağrıyanık, Econ Gayrimenkul, of which he is a partner, and Borhan Group companies. The figure sent by Sneijder was 1 million 181 thousand 428 dollars, which corresponds to more than 50 percent of this figure.

APPARENT PARTNER BUT NOT IN THE RECORDS

In its examinations, MASAK noted that while information was found in the public domain that Sneijder was one of the partners of the Econ Gayrimenkul company, it could not find any information in the Trade Registry Gazette regarding the company itself and its partners indicating that Sneijder was a partner.

The MASAK report pointed out that this situation creates the impression that Wesley Sneijder is a secret partner of the Econ company. News reports in the press stating that Sneijder is a partner of the company also found a place in the MASAK report.

"TAVUKÇU INTRODUCED ME TO SNEIJDER"

Yunus Emre Borhan's testimony to the investigation units has also emerged. Stating that Hakan Arif Tavukçu was a childhood friend, Borhan said in his statement, "He was a shareholder of my company named Econ. Later, he sold his shares to Wesley Sneijder. I did not know that Tavukçu was wanted. I took on urban transformation projects in Kağıthane. Hakan Tavukçu introduced me to Wesley Sneijder."

HE PAID 1 MILLION 181 THOUSAND DOLLARS

Stating that Wesley Sneijder later bought 15 percent of the shares of the company named Econ, which belonged to him, Borhan testified, "In return for this, we agreed on 1 million 800 thousand dollars, and he paid me 1 million 181 thousand 428 dollars."

"SNEIJDER INTRODUCED ME TO ÇETİN GÖREN"

Borhan was also asked where he knew Çetin Gören from, who was once wanted with a red notice and whose name was mentioned in the 'Bataklık' (Swamp) investigation.

Stating that Wesley Sneijder introduced him to Çetin Gören, who was once wanted with a red notice, Borhan said, "I met this person at an auto gallery on the Anatolian side and I borrowed 100 thousand lira from him. I paid it back when it was due. I do not know if he is involved in drug trafficking. I have no connection with him either," he stated.