“Highly profitable secret fund” fraud case that shook the football world deeply has begun

The trial of 7 defendants, who were sued within the scope of the investigation initiated upon the complaint of the complainants, including Emre Belözoğlu, Arda Turan Fernando Muslera, alleging fraud with the promise of a “highly profitable secret fund”, has started.

While 6 defendants, 4 of whom were detained, and the lawyers of the parties attended the hearing at the Istanbul 41st High Criminal Court, 1 defendant who was not detained was connected via Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS). Some complainants, including Emre Çolak and Volkan Bahçekapılı, were also present at the hearing.

During the identification process, the defendant Seçil Erzan declared her profession as a geological engineer and stated that she did not have a residence address.

Denizbank’s lawyer and some of the plaintiff’s lawyers requested to participate in the case.

Defendant Erzan, who made his defense at the hearing, claimed that he had not made any mistakes and was not a fraud during his 20 years of working as a bank manager.

The defendant, who claimed that his relatives gave him money for evaluation from 2011 to 2020, that he processed the money through methods such as public offering, and that when he could not keep his promise, he paid by taking out a loan, stated that the common benefit was “making money from money”, but he did not receive a commission from this money. he suggested.

Defendant Erzan argued that when he was close to the players of Galatasaray football club, he supported the players in investing their money and that he did not embezzle anyone’s money.

Claiming that he was defrauded, Erzan continued his words as follows:

“I was a good manager, I was very hard-working, I loved my job, so I became known in that community. We met outside of work and started sharing our social lives. They were mine, and I was knowledgeable about their private lives. The fact that they did not covet less under the name of interest made me like this. The principal was being paid. After February, I was under pressure. These people harassed me 24/7, they installed GPS in my car, I was taken prisoner in the bank, they put bullets in front of me, they threatened me and said, ‘We will get you fired from the bank, from your job.’ I know he has it in his car, in his watches, in his summer houses, in his pocket.” said.

In 2020, a person who knew him said “Do whatever you want” without being under the name of a fund. When the presiding judge asked the defendant Erzan, who said he handed over money, who this person was, the defendant, who did not give his name at first, said that this person was Fatih Terim, when the presiding judge asked again insistently. Erzan said:

“He left the club at that time. Somehow, I paid him every time he asked. The money he wanted started to be more than the money he gave me, and I couldn’t say ‘no’ there. The first thing he gave me was 300 thousand dollars. Whenever he wanted, I sent him back 50-100 thousand dollars. That’s what I did.” “In the meantime, I gave a mortgage, sold a car, and somehow kept it going.”

Erzan stated that there was money exchange between him and Fatih Terim, but he did not owe him money, and that 500 thousand dollars of Fernando Muslera’s principal money was not paid.

Explaining that the complainant Emre Çolak gave him 3 million 200 thousand dollars and Emre Belözoğlu gave him 4 million 200 thousand dollars, but they did not take it back, the defendant said that he would later submit the amount handed over by the complainant Arda Turan by making a written statement.

The defendant stated that he had a money exchange with Ayhan Akman and that he paid much more money to Akman than the money he handed over to him, and claimed that Akman was one of the people who caused the other victims.

The hearing prosecutor asked, “What did you say when you contacted him and took the money?” On the question, the defendant said, “Except for 2 of my customers, I did not receive money from anyone under the name of ‘fund’. There were a few people I had to tell, and that was in February and March. They sent documents saying ‘there was a fund’, there were people whom I called ‘fund’, Emre “I told Belözoğlu, ‘There is funding.’ He came with Volkan Bahçekapılı’s reference because he knew it with someone else’s reference.” he said.

At the end of his defense, the defendant Erzan said, “I was Seçil when I made money, but when I couldn’t make money, I became a fraudster.” he used his words.

Complainant Emre Çolak, who spoke at the hearing, said that “he was deceived by the bank’s promise of investment funds and believing in its institutionality, and his brother Emrah Çolak delivered 3 million 212 thousand dollars to the bank by hand.”

Çolak also noted that he received a document a few days after he gave the money, but no refund was made.

Complainant Volkan Bahçekapılı said that the defendant Erzan said to him 3-4 times, “There is an urgent need for money.” He stated that he called, but that he did not enter this fund at that time.

Stating that he was aware that his wife Buse Terim Bahçekapılı had also deposited money into this fund and that he had told his cousin Emre Belözoğlu about this fund, Bahçekapılı said, “I have no financial loss, but there is a guarantee here, I would not experience the remorse I experienced if I lost my own money. The defendant told me Mehmet Aydoğdu and He said that there was a private fund with 20 people, headed by Hakan Ateş. I trusted the institutionality of the bank.” he said.

Announcing its interim decision after the 13-hour hearing, the court decided to release the defendants Atilla Yörük and Nazlı Can, taking into account the time they spent in detention and the current state of evidence, while ruling that the other detained defendants should continue in this situation.

The committee ruled to reject Denizbank’s request to participate in the case because it was not directly damaged by the crime, and decided to evaluate the participation requests of other complainants later.

The committee decided to request a report from BTK regarding the phone calls and base records of the defendants for the last 6 months, starting from the date of the crime, and decided to write to Denizbank General Directorate and request camera records of the Büyükdere branch for 6 months starting from the date of the incident, and postponed the hearing to January 12.

FROM THE INDICTMENT

In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it is stated that the defendant Seçil Erzan worked as a manager in a bank’s branch in Levent and that he received 2 million dollars from the complainant Bülent Çeviker based on a personal trust relationship and stated that he would return it to him with the promise of high profits.

In the indictment, it is stated that the complainant Bülent Çeviker was given written documents in exchange for money, but later, although Çeviker tried to reach Erzan, he could not reach him, reported the situation to the bank, the bank conducted an investigation, and filed a criminal complaint against Erzan.

It is stated in the indictment that the defendant Erzan persuaded the complainants from football players, businessmen and various professional groups to deposit money to this fund by telling them that there was a reliable fund with high profit returns and that publicly known names such as Fatih Terim and Hakan Ateş were included in this fund. It is stated that, in reality, it was determined that such a fund does not exist at all.

In the indictment, it is stated that Erzan created fake documents regarding the money given by the complainants, put the bank’s stamp and wet signature on these documents and delivered them to the complainants, and acted with the intention of fraud.

In the indictment, imprisonment of the defendant Erzan from 66 to 216 years is requested for the crimes of “forgery of private documents” and “qualified fraud of cooperative managers within the scope of the cooperative’s activities during the commercial activities of persons who are traders or company managers or acting on behalf of the company”, and the defendants Ali Yörük, Kerem It is requested that Can, Hüseyin Eligül, Nazlı Can, Atilla Yörük and Asiye Öztürk be sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 years to 65 years for the same crimes.