Turkish authorities detained 30 suspects, including alleged crime group leader Alihan Kuriş, in a large-scale financial crime operation spanning 17 provinces, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday.
The raids were carried out simultaneously at 123 addresses, primarily in Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya, as part of an investigation into allegations including establishing and leading a criminal organization, membership in a criminal organization, laundering proceeds of crime, fraud causing losses to public institutions and violations of tax law.
Prosecutors issued detention warrants for 49 suspects and authorized searches and seizures at 43 addresses linked to individuals and 80 addresses belonging to 33 companies. Thirty suspects were detained, nine were found to be abroad, while efforts were underway to apprehend the remaining 10.
Türkiye’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) prepared a report examining the suspects and companies allegedly linked to the organization.
According to the report, several companies associated with the group recorded sharp increases in financial transaction volumes after 2020. Investigators identified company divisions and transfers in which new firms were established with unusually high capital, sometimes in different provinces and operating in sectors unrelated to the original companies.
MASAK also found that some companies had no apparent financial resources other than their registered capital and showed little evidence of active commercial operations, while funds were used to finance affiliated companies.
Investigators suspect the corporate structure was designed to make company records and financial transactions more difficult to trace.
The report also flagged large cash flows, transfers through payment institutions and significant cash injections from company shareholders whose sources require further explanation. Some of those funds were subsequently used in capital increases.
Investigators also identified high-value transactions between companies that raised suspicions of potential fraudulent invoicing, as well as foreign-currency transfers from overseas companies that appeared inconsistent with corporate records.
The financial investigation is being expanded to examine allegations that more than TL 100 billion ($2.4 billion) in transactions involving individuals and companies allegedly linked to the group may have been transferred abroad.
Authorities stressed that the amount, the nature of the transfers and any connection to proceeds of crime have yet to be conclusively established and remain subject to financial and judicial examination.
Investigators are also examining allegations of financial transactions with links to Israel as part of their review of overseas money flows.
Authorities have imposed seizure and other protective measures on certain companies and assets suspected of being connected to criminal proceeds. The full scope of the measures and investigation is expected to become clearer following further examination of MASAK reports, corporate records, bank transactions and other evidence.
Furthermore, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi provided details Thursday during a live broadcast on the operation targeting the alleged criminal organization, saying authorities believe the group was building a major headquarters in Cologne, Germany, as part of plans to shift its operations abroad.
“We know that they are building a large center in Cologne, Germany. Once completed, the headquarters will represent a massive $70 million investment. We assess that, once the building is finished, all activities will be transferred there and conducted from that location,” Çiftçi said.
Çiftçi noted that authorities had been conducting a detailed investigation into the organization’s structure and financial operations for an extended period.
Providing details about the group’s alleged overseas organization, Çiftçi said Kuriş took over the organization in 2016 and that its activities subsequently began to be conducted with greater secrecy.
“Alihan Kuriş took over this organization in 2016. After he assumed control, its activities began to be conducted with much greater secrecy,” Çiftçi said.
He added that the results and details of the operation will become much clearer in the coming days.
