Veil of secrecy lifted in 'Terim Fund' fraud: 'They made me say it like that'

The second prosecutor's statement of Seçil Erzan, who was arrested on charges of defrauding people—including football players—of 43 million 920 thousand 82 dollars and 15 million 625 thousand liras in the high-interest return fraud known as the 'Terim Fund' according to a BDDK report, has emerged.

According to the report by Ferit Zengin from Milliyet; In her second statement, when asked about the note papers seized at her home in Çorlu regarding the money she received from individuals, Erzan replied, “The amounts written on these note papers are correct. However, only the ones I personally wrote on these note papers are accurate.”

ALLEGATION OF THREAT WITH IV DRIP

When asked in her statement, “Were you subjected to pressure or a threat?” Erzan gave the following response: “On Saturday, April 8, Denizbank Europe-1 Regional Manager Sermin Hanım came to my house in Çorlu. She said to me, ‘You don't have to stay here, you can stay at a hotel or, if you want, at my house.’ There were people with her who looked like bodyguards. The vehicles they arrived in were bank vehicles. On April 9, they took me to the Denizbank Headquarters in Zincirlikuyu under the escort of bodyguards. They hooked me up to IV drips and made me say, ‘you did this outside of the bank.’ Sermin Tekin and the Deputy General Manager were definitely there,” she said.

"I WAS SO CORNERED THAT..."

When it was noted that tables were seized at her residence in addition to the notes, Erzan explained the following: “I did not create these tables. I had noted down on papers how much money I received from whom. I mentioned above that they took my note papers when they picked me up and took me to the bank on April 9. These individuals named Sermin Tekin, Ali Murat Dizdar, Cenk İzgi, and Tanu Kaya took these papers and subsequently created these tables. I had taken them and brought them to my house. In this table, the bank was actually trying to do exactly this; they wanted to balance the receivables and payables to minimize the debt.”

"THE BANK IS AWARE"

Explaining that she made the promise of profit with the fund after December 2022, Erzan said: “I was so cornered that because I had distributed so much interest money, I tried to pay the high interest they demanded from me by taking money from people under the promise of a fund. While I was checking the accounts of all individuals claiming to be victims and the real victims in the system, log records fall into the system. I prepared all the documents I provided in the bank's system. The bank has been aware of the situation from the beginning. At the very least, they should have been aware. The bank is trying to save itself by saying it knew nothing. The bank turned a blind eye even though it knew this. I did everything out in the open, I didn't hide anything. Besides, foreign currency transactions over 50 thousand dollars are subject to audit when withdrawn from the bank.”

GOLD FOUND

Within the scope of the investigation, it was determined that Erzan had a safe deposit box at a bank branch in Çorlu, and the box was opened by the police. Seven Reşat gold coins, five Ata gold coins, two Ata gold necklaces, a ring, and business cards with her name on them were found in the safe. While the gold in the safe was confiscated, it was learned that the value of the gold was approximately 250 thousand TL. In the study conducted on Erzan's assets, it was determined that she owned an apartment and a workplace in Çorlu, and a vineyard in the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale.

News Source: 12punto