Interim ruling announced in the 21-defendant case involving the Candan sisters

The trial continued for the case in which Alisya Bahar Candan faces 14 to 44 years in prison and Gülnihal Çiçek, known as Nihal Candan, faces 8 to 24 years on charges of fraud and membership in a criminal organization.

Following a recess in the hearing held at the Küçükçekmece 5th High Criminal Court, defendant Hacı İsrafil Sağlam presented his defense. Sağlam stated, “I backed up all the files on my phone. However, in this indictment, it was evaluated as evidence violating the confidentiality of the investigation. I was told that these were vehicles acquired from the TMSF and were being sold. I never said I am buying or selling them.

I heard about money being sent to the accounts of Nihal and Bahar Candan. Onur Apaydın once told Bahar Candan that ‘money will be sent to the account.’ However, I do not know what it was for. I am not saying directly that Bahar and Nihal Candan are the organization's treasurers. I am only saying what I heard. I only received 15 thousand TL in cash from Onur Apaydın once. Other than that, I did not receive any money in any way,” he said.

Following the defendant's defense, the court panel announced its interim ruling and decided to keep the defendants in custody. The hearing was adjourned to Friday, September 13, to continue taking the defendants' statements.

On the other hand, upon hearing that her detention would continue, Bahar Candan turned to her father and said, “Am I going to stay here? Should I hang myself, what should I do?”

Interim ruling announced in the 21-defendant case involving the Candan sistershttps://t.co/iQpHDTYWlZ pic.twitter.com/ecy5W7uzsT

— 12punto (@12puntocomtr) September 11, 2024

FROM THE INDICTMENT

The indictment prepared by the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office included 38 complainants, 1 complainant-suspect, and 21 defendants, including Nihal and Bahar Candan. The indictment also noted that the detained Gülnihal Çiçek had been released under judicial control, taking into account the time she spent in custody. The indictment stated that the network led by Onur Apaydın and İlker Oflu defrauded citizens using the ‘sazan sarmalı’ (carp spiral) method by claiming they were selling vehicles at low prices. It was recorded in the indictment that Bahar and Nihal Candan were part of the hierarchical and organic structure of the criminal organization.

The indictment continued, “It was stated that the suspects had participated in various television programs for a long time in the past, had appeared in tabloid programs after becoming famous, and because they reached a large number of followers on social media platforms, they possessed the status currently referred to as social media influencers and screen faces, and therefore were figures recognized by large segments of society; due to this feature, they played an active role in deceiving victims at special meetings organized by the criminal organization for fraudulent activities.”

The indictment stated that organization leader Onur Apaydın carried out banking activities through Alisya Bahar Candan, who was in the position of ‘secret accountant and treasurer’ within the organization, and that the proceeds of the crime were laundered.

On the other hand, suspect Hacı İsrafil Sağlam, who was responsible for procuring victims, stated in his testimony included in the indictment that he attended organization meetings, saying, “Everyone from the upper level attended the meetings. Field staff and lower levels could never attend. Everyone in the organization's upper management participated. I saw Nihal Candan in two of the meetings. Nihal Candan was the girlfriend of organization leader Onur Apaydın. Other individuals showed respect to Nihal Candan and acted at a distance. Topics regarding the internal functioning of the organization and car buying and selling were discussed in the presence of Nihal Candan,” it was stated in the indictment.

The indictment requested that Bahar Candan be sentenced to a total of 14 to 44 years in prison, including 2 to 4 years for ‘membership in a criminal organization’ and two counts of 12 to 40 years for ‘fraud by claiming to be a public official or an employee of a bank, insurance, or credit institution, or by claiming to be associated with these institutions and organizations,’ and that Nihal Candan be sentenced to 8 to 24 years in prison for the same crimes. Meanwhile, prison sentences of varying lengths were requested for the other 20 suspects.

News Source: İHA