Court rules for continuation of detention in Seçil Erzan case

In the third hearing of the case held at the Istanbul 41st High Criminal Court, it was ruled that Seçil Erzan, who is accused of defrauding many people, including names such as Arda Turan, Fernando Muslera, and Emre Belözoğlu, with the promise of a high-yield private fund, shall remain in custody.

During the second hearing of the case at the Istanbul 41st High Criminal Court, the detained defendant Seçil Erzan, in response to the prosecutor's question, "You are receiving money from many people. How do you keep track of this system in your mind?" replied that she did not have any problems until April 2023.

COURT TESTIMONIES

In response to the Presiding Judge's question, "Who are the people you mentioned by saying '(There is a Hakan Ateş, Mehmet Aydoğdu, and Fatih Terim Fund, it makes money.)'?" Erzan stated that she did not remember what she told which complainant, but she did tell some victims, including Volkan Bahçekapılı, Emre Belözoğlu, and Bülent Çeviker, "It is a secret transaction, they are doing it at the general directorate, people are making a lot of money."

When asked who recorded the video taken in the car that also appeared in the press, Erzan said, "Moji forced me to say the words in that video. He is among those who received too much money, like other people. That night, Tanın and Merve came, and Hüseyin Avni was also with us. I stayed in the kitchen, they didn't let me open the door, they made me sign 10-15 promissory notes."

Claiming that the transactions in question took place after April 2023 and that she did not intend to defraud anyone, Erzan said she received money from Nur Erkasap but did not remember the amount.

Stating that 90 percent of the payments were made in cash, Erzan said, "Ali took Semih's money from his account. Later, Ali sent it back to Semih's account as 750 thousand dollars. Semih sent the money to Ali's account to send it to me. I took out small loans like 50-100 thousand. I did not take out large amounts of loans."

PHONE QUESTION FROM LAWYER EPÖZDEMİR

In response to the question from Rezan Epözdemir, the lawyer for some of the complainants, "If the bank is unaware of all these transactions, why does the bank break your phone and give you another phone just before you are taken into custody?" Erzan noted that the bank gave her a new SIM card and that regarding the other phone, she was told, "Do whatever you want," and that she did not share this situation with any of her managers.

To Epözdemir's question, "Why did you search for currency in Georgia in your phone's internet searches?" Erzan replied, "When a client of ours said they had money in Georgia and wanted to bring it to Turkey, I had them search for it to learn the currency."

Upon lawyer Epözdemir's question, "The BDDK (Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency) said there is a 43 million deficit, where is this money?" Erzan pointed out that this figure was not 43 million, stating, "Normally, it is a deficit between 300-500 thousand. If everyone says what they received, it will emerge. The 43 million was reached with the figures I provided. A collected amount of around 53 million was calculated, but I was not myself at that time. I wrote more for some and less for others among those I gave at that time."

Regarding the allegations in the message records that lawyer Candaş Gürol received 100 thousand dollars from Tanın Yılmaz, Erzan argued that this was not true.

The non-detained defendant Nazlı Can claimed that she did not understand that Erzan's transactions were illegal and that she also had money in the system.

Explaining that she did not knowingly engage in transactions and that Erzan also used her own accounts, but there was no situation that would make her suspicious, Can stated that while she was with Erzan, she spoke with some people saying, "I will sign."

Defendant Can stated that she met Erzan in 2019 and that she persuaded her relatives and received money from them, saying, "She was giving us money from time to time, then taking it back."

'I did not talk to my father before handing over money to Erzan'

Complainant Buse Terim Bahçekapılı said that she gave the 190 thousand dollars in her time deposit account to the defendant Erzan.

Explaining that they did not discuss monetary issues in their father-daughter relationship with Fatih Terim and that their earnings were separate, complainant Bahçekapılı emphasized that they did not discuss the matter with her father before handing over the money to Erzan.

Stating that she met the defendant Erzan face-to-face for the first time at her grandmother's funeral, Bahçekapılı reported that before that, they only spoke on the phone regarding banking transactions.

Bahçekapılı continued her words as follows: "When my husband called me and mentioned such a transaction, I said 'Yes, my money is there too,' that's all. When I asked Terim Arıcan, he said that a written paper was given when depositing money, but that day, because he had to catch the treasury, they said they would give the document tomorrow, but we could not get the document later. I gave the 190 thousand dollars at once. If Seçil Erzan were not the Denizbank branch manager, if she were someone passing by on the street, I would not have given this money. I am a complainant, I have a request to join the case."

Complainant Bülent Çeviker also stated that he was a complainant against the defendant Erzan and the complainant Mert Zeydanlı, and requested to join the case.

MONEY GIVEN TO DEFENDANT ERZAN FOUR TIMES

Complainant Mert Zeydanlı noted that on January 30, 2023, the day he deposited money into the bank, Erzan called him to her office and mentioned a special fund there, saying he could participate if he wanted.

Mentioning that he had knowledge about the process of special funds, Zeydanlı explained that when he asked what his guarantee would be, the defendant told him she would get him a promissory note.

Zeydanlı claimed that when he asked for a promissory note from the defendant, she told him, "The wives of Fatih Terim and Müfit Erkasap are interested in this fund, let's get the note from them," adding, "I already knew that I could not get this document from the bank. When I got the note, I gave her money four times. Once I even received 400 thousand dollars. The very next day, Seçil came with a new offer, but because I had 2 million 700 thousand dollars inside, I did not accept it."

Stating that he was a complainant against the defendant Erzan, Zeydanlı requested to join the case.

The public prosecutor, whose opinion was asked, requested that the current status of the detained defendants be continued.

Taking the floor, the lawyers for the detained defendants requested the release of their clients.

The court panel, in its interim decision, ruled that the detained defendants shall remain in custody. The hearing was adjourned to January 15 for the taking of complainant statements and the hearing of witnesses.

News Source: 12punto