Interim ruling in the fund fraud case involving Seçil Erzan

The trial of bank manager Seçil Erzan, who is accused of defrauding many people, including Arda Turan, Fernando Muslera, and Emre Belözoğlu, with the promise of a high-yield private fund, has continued.

Don't leave your news choices to an algorithm - decide for yourself what you read. Add 12punto to your preferred sources!

Interim ruling in the fund fraud case involving Seçil Erzan

The trial of bank branch manager Seçil Erzan, who is accused of defrauding 28 people, including well-known footballers Arda Turan, Fernando Muslera, Emre Belözoğlu, and Selçuk İnan, of approximately 25 million dollars and 7 million 384 thousand liras by claiming that figures like Fatih Terim were also involved in this fund, has continued.

The hearing, held by the Istanbul 41st High Criminal Court with 7 defendants, was attended by detained defendants Seçil Erzan and Ali Yörük, as well as some defendants who are being tried without detention. Some complainants, including Fatih Terim's daughter Buse Terim, also attended the hearing with their lawyers.

During the hearing, some lawyers for the complainants requested that the court declare a lack of jurisdiction regarding the charge of 'banking embezzlement'. The lawyers for defendants Atilla Yörük and Seçil Erzan requested that their clients' files be separated. The court rejected both requests and continued the hearing.

"I TRUSTED HER BECAUSE I THOUGHT SHE WAS A SUCCESSFUL BANKER"

Deniz Güzel, who was heard as a complainant at the hearing, stated that defendant Erzan called her in 2022 and wanted to include her in the mentioned fund, saying, "Because there was a relationship of trust, I sent 125 thousand dollars to defendant Nazlı Can at Erzan's instruction. I am a doctor.

I had treated Seçil Erzan's mother as a doctor several times. I would also speak privately about some of her mother's health problems. I trusted Erzan because I thought she was a successful banker. When Erzan's mother came to me as a patient, Nazlı Can had accompanied her a few times, and she had said that she was Erzan's relative. Seçil Erzan had sent me a photo taken with Nazlı Can, writing, 'We have started the fund, best of luck.'

The purpose of sending it was probably to put my mind at ease. I would not have sent the money if she were a person I didn't know at all. I believed Seçil Erzan's word," she said.

ERZAN'S DIRECT SUPERVISOR HEARD AS A WITNESS

Sermin Tekin, Seçil Erzan's first-degree direct supervisor, was also heard as a witness at the hearing. In her witness testimony, she said, "On April 7, I received a call stating that a person named İnci Çeviker wanted to reach Seçil Erzan but could not. At the same time, I also received information that some footballers could not reach Erzan. When I spoke with Ms. İnci, she said, 'I was stabbed in the back by a friend of 10 years,' and I calmed her down first.

I asked what happened; she said she had given money to Seçil Erzan but that Erzan was stalling her, and she said, 'She is going to flee abroad, stop her.' We listened to Ms. İnci and took notes. I called our manager Tanju Kaya. When I went to the branch, I encountered Volkan Bahçekapılı on the lower floor.

When I asked him, 'Is there a problem?', he said, 'Don't misunderstand, we don't have a complaint about Seçil, we came to verify documents.' I said 'good luck' and went upstairs," she said.

"SHE SAID SHE WAS ASHAMED, SCARED, AND SAD"

Continuing her testimony, witness Tekin said, "On the night of April 7, we received a call from our General Manager Hakan Ateş. He said that Fatih Terim would come around 10:00 in the morning and that there would be a meeting. We went to the general directorate at 10:00 in the morning. Fatih Terim was there with Arda Turan and Emre Belözoğlu. We held a meeting; Arda Turan said he had given money to Erzan but could not get it back. When we said we could not reach Seçil Erzan, Arda Turan said, 'I have Seçil's phone number, I can give it to you.'

Fatih Terim had said, 'Seçil is like my daughter.' After the meeting, Fatih Terim and the other footballers left, and we continued our work. I called the number Turan gave, but no one answered; then Seçil called me. She was crying in a miserable state. She said she was very ashamed, scared, and sad. I asked what I could do, and she said she wanted to meet. I went to the location she sent with my driver.

Seçil Erzan met me outside the door in a housing complex in Çorlu. She was in a very miserable state. Seçil told me that she had gone through very difficult times, that she was being threatened, that her close relatives were being harassed by loan sharks, and that she had taken this money but could not return it. I stayed there for about 3 hours," she stated.

"IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR HER NOT TO INTERVENE"

Stating that Seçil Erzan did not do anything unauthorized without her consent during their meetings, witness Tekin said, "All money transactions and cash exchanges with us take place in the operations area monitored by cameras. I heard about this fund issue for the first time from İnci Çeviker. Then I conveyed it to Tanju Kaya.

Mehmet Aydoğdu probably became aware of it after the news came out. If there had been any physical assault at the branch, it is impossible for our employees not to see it and intervene if they were there. I don't know if they weren't there," she said.

At the hearing, the Public Prosecutor requested that the detention status of the defendants be continued and that missing matters be resolved.

CONTINUATION OF DETENTION ORDERED

Announcing its interim ruling, the court decided to continue the detention of defendants Seçil Erzan and Ali Yörük. The panel adjourned the hearing to May 29 for the witnesses to be heard, citing maintenance work on the UYAP system.

News Source: İHA