Gökalp İçer, owner of ICRYPEX, facing 7.5 years in prison for defrauding Azerbaijani diplomats, was previously accused of defrauding Cumhuriyet

The defrauding of Azerbaijani diplomats of approximately 350 thousand dollars in Turkey under the promise of high-yield funds has hit the Turkish agenda like a bombshell.

Among those against whom a lawsuit has been filed on charges of fraud is the owner and official of the cryptocurrency company ICRYPEX, Gökalp İçer.

Azerbaijani diplomats filed a criminal complaint for aggravated fraud, stating that they were defrauded by Gökalp İçer, the owner of the cryptocurrency company ICRYPEX, with the promise of 'high returns'.

A lawsuit has been filed against İçer seeking up to 7.5 years in prison.

According to the report by Şeyma Vural from TRT, Gökalp İçer listed Murat Şirinov, whom he met at an international fair, as an employee covered by social security (SGK) at his company.

Şirinov then reached out to Azerbaijani diplomats through a banker he knew in Azerbaijan, introducing himself as a public official.

Gaining trust through this method, Murat Şirinov first received cash from an Azerbaijani diplomat by offering high returns. Şirinov told the diplomat that he would track the money through an application he installed on the diplomat's phone.

A few months later, a certain amount of money was deposited into the diplomat's account under the name of 'profit margin'.

The diplomat, having earned high profits in a short time, recommended that his colleagues in Azerbaijan also invest. Upon this recommendation, two more Azerbaijani diplomats were included in the system.

The diplomats handed over a total of 350 thousand dollars to Şirinov in cash and in installments. However, the diplomats' accounts were zeroed out after a while, and Murat Şirinov could no longer be reached.

The victims, realizing they had been defrauded, applied to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and filed a criminal complaint.

Examinations revealed that there was no actual flow of money in the applications installed on the diplomats' phones.

A lawsuit has been filed against ICRYPEX owner and official Gökalp İçer and Murat Şirinov, seeking 5 to 7.5 years in prison for the crimes of 'aggravated fraud using information systems'.

CUMHURIYET FOUNDATION MEMBER TURAN KARAKAŞ HAD ALSO FILED A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

The filing of a lawsuit against ICRYPEX owner Gökalp İçer to be tried for aggravated fraud with a 7.5-year sentence brought to the agenda allegations from a few months ago that the 100-year archive of Cumhuriyet Newspaper was turned into NFTs and sold by ICRYPEX and certain suspects within the newspaper.

Turan Karakaş, a member of the Board of Directors of the Cumhuriyet Foundation and the executive responsible for legal affairs, had filed a criminal complaint against Gökalp İçer, who illegally put the Cumhuriyet Newspaper archive up for sale on the internet by turning it into NFTs.

In the criminal complaint filed by Turan Karakaş, the suspects were identified as the former Editor-in-Chief of Cumhuriyet Newspaper Arif Kızılyalın, Financial and Administrative Affairs Manager Osman Selçuk Özer, ICRYPEX Bilişim A.Ş. cryptocurrency company owner Gökalp İçer, company official Zehra Ezgi İçer, Yiğit Karakış, and İsmail Hoca.

In the petition, where the date of the crime was stated as June 30, 2022, it was stated that the suspects committed the crimes of "Aggravated fraud, obtaining unfair benefit through an information system".

In lawyer Turan Karakaş's petition, it was emphasized that "Regarding the newspaper's archive, the suspect Osman Selçuk Özer, who holds the title of board member and financial and administrative affairs manager of Yeni Gün A.Ş., the newspaper's former (at the time of the crime) Editor-in-Chief Arif Kızılyalın, who is an employee of Yeni Gün A.Ş., ICRYPEX owner Gökalp İçer, and suspects İsmail Hoca and Yiğit Karakış, in participation, committed the crime of aggravated fraud against the foundation and Yeni Gün A.Ş. with the propaganda that the newspaper archive would be turned into NFTs and that financial gain would be obtained for the newspaper from this."

Furthermore, the statement "The suspects, by engaging in the activity of turning the archive of Cumhuriyet Newspaper, which consists of thousands of copies and has been preserved since 1924, into NFTs, have agreed to commit crimes together by multiple people in unity of thought and action within the scope of the execution of the decision to commit the crime of aggravated fraud" was included.

Lawyer Turan Karakaş also presented to the court that the suspect Osman Selçuk Özer wanted to have other board members sign a protocol under the name of 'Pre-Sale Cooperation Protocol' and a contract prepared by ICRYPEX between ICRYPEX and Yeni Gün A.Ş. under the name of "Cooperation Agreement".

ALEV COŞKUN HAD SAID "THERE IS NO SALE"

As the legal process progressed, Cumhuriyet Foundation President Alev Coşkun clashed with lawyer Turan Karakaş, who emphasized that he had started a legal struggle to protect the rights of the Cumhuriyet Foundation and Cumhuriyet Newspaper, and tended to protect Gökalp İçer, the owner of ICRYPEX, who is being tried with a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for allegedly defrauding Azerbaijani diplomats, and the other suspects.

Alev Coşkun claimed that there was no suspicion of fraud, dismissed Turan Karakaş from his position as the foundation's lawyer for complaining about ICRYPEX, and ensured that the complaints against Gökalp İçer and other suspects were withdrawn.

In addition, Alev Coşkun and Osman Selçuk Özer, who was shown among the suspects, signed a release protocol together, ensuring that Gökalp İçer was saved from the 'fraud' accusation directed at him.

The fact that ICRYPEX acted together with some Cumhuriyet executives to illegally put the 100-year-old newspaper archive up for sale was carried to the General Directorate of Foundations as well as the judiciary.

The investigation by the inspectors of the General Directorate of Foundations into the matter is ongoing.