Fernando Muslera testifies in fund fraud case

According to a report by Ali Selim Yamanlı from Sözcü, Fernando Muslera has testified in the investigation into Seçil Erzan, a bank branch manager accused of defrauding 18 people, including famous football players Arda Turan, Emre Belözoğlu, and Selçuk İnan, at a private bank's Levent Büyükdere Street branch.

The Uruguayan goalkeeper stated that he gave 1.2 million dollars to Seçil Erzan through his manager, Mert Çetin, and noted that he was only able to recover 700,000 dollars of that amount.

“SHE CONVINCED ME TO INVEST IN THE FUND"

Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera said he had known Seçil Erzan since 2011 and that in 2022, she had called him frequently regarding a high-yield fund.

Muslera said, “Every time she called me on the phone, she convinced me to invest money in this fund by saying, ‘There is a high-yield fund, this is a corporate fund, and Hakan Ateş and Mehmet Aydoğdu are managing this fund.’ 

In December, I withdrew 700,000 dollars and gave it to my manager, Mert Çetin, to deliver to branch manager Seçil Erzan.

Mert took this money and delivered it by hand to Seçil Erzan in her office at the Levent branch on the same day. In February, I withdrew 500,000 dollars from another bank and gave it to my manager, Mert Çetin, again. This time, Mert Çetin delivered it to her in front of Seçil Erzan's bank branch in Levent,” he said.

“I WILL MAKE A PAYMENT TO YOU TOO"

Stating that he had received 700,000 dollars back, Muslera said, “Seçil Erzan had said that we would start receiving the returns on the fund after 1.5 to 2 months, but despite the promised time passing, no payment was made to me.

Seçil Erzan, who was at the head of this fund, told me that the fund would have a 35% return. However, even though we have entered March, she has not made any payment to me, including the principal.

Later, one day in March, she called my manager Mert and said, ‘The money has come out of the fund, the withholding taxes and levies have been paid, and I will make a payment to you too.’ Afterwards, I sent my manager Mert to see Seçil Erzan in the last week of March. Mert went to branch manager Seçil Erzan's office in Levent and she returned 700,000 dollars of the principal I had given,” he testified.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

The investigation has been completed regarding 8 suspects, including Seçil Erzan, a private bank branch manager who was arrested on charges of defrauding 18 people—including many famous football players such as Arda Turan, Nestor Fernando Muslera, and Emre Belözoğlu, as well as Fatih Terim's daughter Buse Terim Bahçekapılı and son-in-law Volkan Bahçekapılı—with the promise of a “high-profit secret fund.”

In the 62-page indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, 18 people are listed as complainants, while 7 people are listed as suspects.

It was explained that Seçil Erzan, who worked as the manager of a private bank's Levent Büyükdere Street branch, took 2 million dollars in cash from complainant Bülent Çeviker on March 31, 2023, based on a personal relationship of trust, with the intention of investing it, and informed him that she would return it as 3 million dollars on April 3, 2023. The indictment states that she gave the customer a written document in return, and that the complainant reported to the bank that he could not reach the branch manager despite trying.

INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED

The indictment stated that the bank attempted to conduct an investigation and reach Seçil Erzan but could not, and for these reasons, a criminal complaint was filed regarding the actions taken by Seçil Erzan and investigation proceedings were initiated.

QUALIFIED FRAUD

The indictment noted that an investigation was launched against the suspect Seçil Erzan, who served as a branch manager at the bank until April 2023, for the crimes of “Banking Embezzlement” and “Qualified Fraud” under the Banking Law No. 5411 regarding the actions in this file.

The indictment stated that a report was requested from the BRSA (BDDK) to fulfill the procedural requirement for the crime of “banking embezzlement” to occur, but since the notification requirement was not met, an additional decision of non-prosecution was issued and the investigation continued for the crime of “qualified fraud.”

CAMERA FOOTAGE EXAMINED

In the expert report created as a result of the examination of the camera footage of the branch where Seçil Erzan worked between March 1 and April 7, 2023, it was recorded that a total of 77 security camera images showing the bank manager's office were examined, and that the same people were detected entering and exiting on different days in the footage of Seçil Erzan's office. 

In the photo information obtained from the Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Investigation Branch, Economic Crimes Bureau, it was determined that the people in the photos were the complainants Seçil Erzan, Selçuk İnan, Musa Mert Çetin, İsmail İbrahim Çağlar, Volkan Bahçekapılı, and Emre Belözoğlu.

The prosecution stated, “The deception constituting the crime of fraud must be intense and skillful to a certain extent, and it must be of a nature that can influence the person it is directed at in terms of its style of expression and presentation, and draw the person in the desired direction through the environment of trust it creates; the deception constituting the crime of fraud is a qualified lie, and for the false statements made to constitute the deception element of the crime of fraud, these statements must be powerful enough to make the interlocutor accept their truth, thus breaking the interlocutor's tendency to investigate, and external actions must be added to the lie when necessary.”

IT HAS SEVERE PENALTIES

The indictment stated that, in terms of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) No. 765 and No. 5237, the legislator regulated these actions as qualified fraud, taking into account their deceptive nature, because the trust placed in banks or credit institutions makes it easier for deception to occur when they are used as intermediaries, and because the victims' tendency to investigate decreases or disappears entirely due to the trust placed in the bank, thus attaching more severe penalties to them.

On the other hand, it was also stated that fraudulent acts committed by merchants, company managers, or persons acting on behalf of a company during their commercial activities are also subject to more severe penalties.

SHE SAID IT WAS A RELIABLE FUND

The indictment stated that in the case in question, the victims were people from various professional groups such as well-known athletes, businessmen, and physicians, but in all their statements, there were similar expressions that the suspect Seçil Erzan convinced them to invest in this fund by saying that it was a reliable fund with high profit returns and that well-known names in the public eye, such as Fatih Terim and Hakan Ateş, were also involved in this fund.

A NON-EXISTENT FUND

The indictment, which notes that no such fund ever existed in reality, explains that as can be understood from the service contract the suspect signed with the bank examined within the scope of the file, she had served as a bank manager for many years, and that the same bank had occasionally featured her successes, especially on social media.

SHE USED HER POSITION TO ESTABLISH TRUST

The indictment, which notes that the complainants handed over the money to the suspect Seçil Erzan, who was the Branch Manager, from the very beginning for investment purposes and because of the trust she provided in her capacity as a bank manager, states that the suspect used the convenience provided by the banking experience she had gained over the years to meet with the complainants one by one and gain an advantage by convincing them to invest in a fund that did not actually exist, as if it did.

SHE SPOKE ON THE PHONE IN FRONT OF THE COMPLAINANTS

The indictment explains that to be even more convincing, the suspect sometimes spoke with people on the phone in front of the complainants, using terms found in banking literature such as ISIN codes, to further reinforce the trust she gave to the other party. The indictment also includes that she created fake documents regarding the money the complainants gave, stamped these documents with the bank's seal, signed them with a wet signature, and delivered them to the complainants.

UP TO 216 YEARS IN PRISON REQUESTED

The prosecution, evaluating that the suspect Seçil Erzan acted with the intent to defraud from the beginning, requested a prison sentence of 66 to 216 years for Seçil Erzan for the crimes of “Forgery of Private Documents” and “Fraud During the Commercial Activities of Merchants or Company Managers or Persons Acting on Behalf of a Company; Fraud Within the Scope of Cooperative Managers' Activities.”

On the other hand, it was requested that the other 6 suspects be punished with prison sentences ranging from 3 to 65 years for the crime of “Fraud During the Commercial Activities of Merchants or Company Managers or Persons Acting on Behalf of a Company; Fraud Within the Scope of Cooperative Managers' Activities.”

News Source: 12punto