Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office: Investment Fraud Across 39 Provinces, 159 Detained

The Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office detained 159 suspects across 39 provinces in an investigation into investment fraud conducted through shell companies and personal accounts.

According to the investigation, suspects sent links via GSM numbers that led victims to install a fake investment application on their phones. Victims transferred money to shared IBAN accounts; the application then displayed deposited amounts as higher than actual, creating an illusion of profits. The confirmed losses of 23 direct victims were calculated at 51 million 407 thousand 966 lira.

In analyzing Revenue Administration data, money transfers between accounts belonging to suspects were documented: 3 billion 204 million lira consisted of wire transfers, and 3 billion 451 million lira consisted of EFT transactions. Total transaction volume exceeded 6 billion 656 million lira — this figure corresponds to approximately 3,300 times the current value of an average apartment in Şişli.

As part of the investigation, bank and cryptocurrency accounts belonging to suspects were seized. The Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office stated that the investigation is ongoing.