Arrest warrant issued for Ebru Şallı's husband, Uğur Akkuş!

An arrest warrant has been issued for businessman Uğur Akkuş, one of four defendants being tried for "qualified fraud"—a charge carrying a potential prison sentence of up to fifteen years—for allegedly defrauding two individuals of 500 thousand dollars under the guise of cryptocurrency trading.

The hearing at the Istanbul High Criminal Court was attended by the non-detained defendants Abdullah Alkreish, Feyza Betül Köksal, and Ercan Eşkin, as well as the parties' lawyers, while the complainant, Ömer A., was also present.

Testifying at the hearing, Abdullah Alkreish stated that he met the defendant Uğur Akkuş through a person he knew as a writer named "Turan" and explained that he met with Akkuş on May 23.

The defendant said he continued communication with a person named Eyüp, who worked for Akkuş, and that they conducted a 5 thousand dollar transaction to build trust, which was successful.

Alkreish explained that he sent the cryptocurrency platform link provided by the person named Eyüp to a friend working in Dubai to check it, and stated that it was determined the link was working correctly.

Defendant Alkreish recounted that he made an appointment with the person named Eyüp and went to the workplace in question with the complainants, and that during this meeting, they first performed a 10 dollar transaction and then a 2 thousand 500 dollar transaction, and that the cryptocurrency address in question was working correctly at that time.

"THE MONEY DID NOT ARRIVE IN THE ACCOUNT"

Claiming that after Akkuş instructed the people working for him to "take the money to the bank," Akkuş also left but did not return despite them waiting for hours, defendant Alkreish said, "At that moment, I, Eyüp, and the others made contact. Sometimes he would turn off his phone, sometimes he would answer; finally, he sent a receipt for 497 thousand 500 dollars, but later this receipt turned out to be fake. The money did not arrive in the account either."

Defendant Alkreish argued that Akkuş stalled them by saying, "There was a glitch in the system, no problem, it will definitely hit your account tomorrow, come at 10 tomorrow, if you have any losses, I am ready to pay," and alleged that they called Akkuş to the workplace but he did not come, and later they learned that Akkuş had fled to France.

Complainant Ömer A. claimed in the hearing that his friend named Canberk introduced him to defendant Alkreish and that the incident was a premeditated fraud.

"NEITHER WAS A CAR PURCHASED NOR WAS MY MONEY RETURNED"

Stating that when they went to the workplace in question, they spoke with Akkuş and his partners and were told that the cryptocurrency would be in his account within five minutes, the complainant said, "The other defendants came. Then they took the money, they made us wait, we waited. Uğur said 'I'll be back in five minutes,' and he ran away. He said, 'We do it through the bank.' They threatened me, saying, 'If you don't leave here, we will remove you by force of police.' I called the police before they did. I have a loss of 100-150 thousand dollars. Later they told us, 'Don't file a complaint against us, we will both give you your money and buy our car.' Neither was a car purchased nor was my money returned."

Defendant Feyza Betül Köksal explained that she worked as a brand coordinator at a different business in the same building as Ebru Şallı Akkuş, and that on the day of the incident, defendant Akkuş called her and asked her to go to the bank because his accountant was not at the workplace. Defendant Köksal argued that she had no knowledge of the incident.

Akkuş's lawyer, Büşra Çilingir, stated that even they could not easily reach her client and announced that Akkuş would attend the next hearing.

Arguing that the financial loss in question had been resolved, lawyer Çilingir claimed that the defendants and the complainants had reached an agreement in June.

ARREST WARRANT FOR AKKUŞ

Asked for his opinion at the hearing, the public prosecutor requested a warrant for the forcible appearance of defendant Akkuş to take his defense.

Announcing its interim decision, the court panel ruled that an arrest warrant be issued for defendant Uğur Akkuş.

The court panel decided to accept the complainant Ömer A.'s request to join the case and ordered the forcible appearance of complainant Anvar M. at the hearing, before adjourning the session.

FROM THE INDICTMENT

The indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office states that the complainants, Ömer A. and Anvar M., who have joint companies, are engaged in foreign trade.

The indictment explains that the complainants wanted to buy cryptocurrency with 500 thousand dollars belonging to their firm and contacted defendant Abdullah Alkreish, who acted as an intermediary for a commission, and that this defendant introduced the complainants to defendant Uğur Akkuş, and that they met with the complainants at Akkuş's office in a shopping mall in Şişli on May 30.

The indictment notes that defendant Akkuş and the complainants agreed on the purchase of cryptocurrency for 500 thousand dollars, and that Akkuş transferred 2 thousand 500 dollars worth of cryptocurrency to complainant Anvar M.'s account to build trust in the first stage.

The indictment states that defendant Akkuş said the entire amount of money needed to be deposited into his account to ensure the continuation of the cryptocurrency flow and convinced the complainants, and that the complainants handed over 497 thousand 500 dollars to Akkuş in cash.

The indictment emphasizes that Akkuş left the workplace telling the complainants, "I will come after I deposit the money in the bank," and that the complainants waited there for hours but became suspicious when no one came and the cryptocurrency was not deposited into their accounts, leading them to file a complaint on the grounds that they were defrauded.

The indictment states that defendant Akkuş told his assistants, defendants Ercan Eşkin and Feyza Betül Köksal, to take the money he received from the complainants and deliver it to the bank, and that the defendants obtained unfair gain by not providing any cryptocurrency transfer.

The indictment requests that defendants Uğur Akkuş, Abdullah Alkreish, Ercan Eşkin, and Feyza Betül Köksal be sentenced to between four years and six months and fifteen years in prison for the crime of "qualified fraud during the commercial activities of persons who are merchants or company managers or who act on behalf of a company."

On the other hand, Uğur Akkuş was detained at Istanbul Airport in June following a complaint made against him within the scope of this file, and was released after the complainant Ömer A. withdrew his complaint, stating that his loss had been resolved.

News Source: AA