Seçil Erzan trial continues! 'They put out cigarettes on me'

Seçil Erzan appeared in court for the case opened against her, Süleyman Aslan, and Mojtaba Haghani, known as Moci, regarding the fraud incident publicly known as the high-yield secret fund.

The hearing at the Istanbul 41st High Criminal Court was attended by the detained defendant Seçil Erzan and the non-detained complainant-defendant Haghani, along with their lawyers.

"WE WERE GOING TO LIFT THE MORTGAGE ON THE HOUSE"

In her defense at the hearing, Erzan stated that she met defendant Haghani because he was the husband of a close friend. Claiming that she received some money from Haghani, whom she asked for financial support, and later repaid it with interest, Erzan said, "During a money exchange with Moci (defendant Haghani), we thought, 'Can we get money from Süleyman Aslan?' Süleyman agreed to provide the money on the condition that he would receive 14 million liras back. Moci withdrew 10 million liras from Aslan's account, and I acted as a guarantor. We were going to lift the mortgage on the house in Bozcaada with this money."

Defendant Erzan alleged that they repaid the 10 million liras they received to Aslan as 14 million liras, but that Aslan did not tear up the promissory note and they could not get it back.

Stating that after a while Aslan gave her 11 million liras and demanded a payment of 18 million liras due to the rise in the dollar exchange rate, Erzan claimed that she complied with this agreement and signed another promissory note.

"EVERYONE WAS SAYING 'YOU WILL GIVE US MONEY'"

Upon the presiding judge's question, "What would have happened if you had said you wouldn't give any more money?" Erzan replied, "I am a bank manager. These people are my customers. The bank would have fired me. I paid Süleyman Aslan 3 million dollars extra, and I couldn't get the promissory notes back. Everyone was saying, 'You will give us money.' Süleyman Aslan was a very significant deposit customer of the bank."

Erzan argued that the money exchange with Aslan was under the name of a loan and that she definitely did not use the word "fund" with him.

Explaining that she repaid the 200 thousand liras she received from defendant Haghani and that there was no debt left between them, Erzan noted the following:

"They talk as if I had said 'Mehmet Aydoğdu fund' even when Mehmet Aydoğdu was not a senior executive at that time. I received 200 thousand liras from Moci, and I paid it back. We have no outstanding debts. I go to Merve and Tanın's place, and Moci opens the door. They lock me in that house. They put out cigarettes on me, and they even threw a glass at my face in a pastry shop. These people thought of me as 'sand in the sea, money in Seçil.' They were saying, 'Whatever you do, find this money and bring it to us.' Everyone loved me very much and treated me like royalty."

Defendant Haghani, who was given the floor at the hearing, claimed that he gave her a total of 280 thousand dollars after Erzan promised him, "There is a Fatih Terim fund, there is a gap, if you provide money, we will close the gap, and you will also benefit."

Claiming that he gave the money because Erzan was a successful bank manager but could not get it back, complainant-defendant Haghani said that Erzan stalled him with various excuses.

Announcing its interim decision, the court panel decided to merge the two cases on the grounds that there is a factual and legal connection between this file and the main case file.

Four new cases opened against bank manager Seçil Erzan, who is alleged to have defrauded many people, including Fatih Terim, Arda Turan, Fernando Muslera, and Emre Belözoğlu, with the promise of a high-yield private fund, have been merged with the main case file.

The panel ruled to grant time for Süleyman Aslan, who did not attend the hearing, to be made available on November 15, the hearing date of the main case.