13.04.2026 14:10
A famous gallery owner, who is alleged to have caused the state to lose millions of lira in taxes by undervaluing luxury vehicles with fake invoices in Istanbul, has come under the radar of the Ministry of Trade. While dozens of documents are being scrutinized, it has been determined that the declarations of luxury cars were reported at very low values. As part of the investigation, luxury vehicles worth millions of lira have been seized, and it has emerged that the famous gallery owner Serhat A. was arrested for drug trafficking.
Famous dealer Serhat A., who is alleged to have caused the state to suffer millions of lira in losses by undervaluing luxury vehicles with fake invoices in Istanbul, has come under the radar of the Ministry of Trade. During the ongoing investigation, numerous documents were examined, revealing that some vehicles were declared at values far below their actual worth.
THEY DECLARED A 12 MILLION VEHICLE AS 1.8 MILLION
In an incident revealed by the inspection conducted by the Ministry of Trade's Guidance and Inspection Directorate at the luxury gallery in Florya, the declarations of vehicles brought from Europe were examined one by one. The investigations found that a vehicle with a market value of approximately 12 million lira was shown as 1 million 800 thousand lira on the invoice, and alterations were made to the documents.
THE VEHICLE WAS SEIZED
According to a report in Sabah; a luxury vehicle identified as unregistered and without a license plate was seized as part of the investigation. Dealer Serhat A., whose statement was taken, directed the accusations towards his financial advisor, while financial advisor Bülent Y. denied the allegations, stating that he did not have the authority to prepare the declaration.
A LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED AGAINST HIM
Based on the evidence obtained, the Customs Directorate issued a "Seizure Report for Smuggled Goods" and filed a criminal complaint with the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. A lawsuit was filed against Serhat A. for the crimes of "bringing goods into the country without paying customs duties" and "forgery in official documents."
DRUG OPERATION AT THE GALLERY
While the investigation continues, police teams conducted a raid on the gallery following a tip-off. During the searches, 14 packages of cocaine ready for sale and a precision scale were seized. Claiming that the cocaine belonged to him, Serhat A. was arrested for drug trafficking.
280 MILLION OPERATION ON 233 VEHICLES
On the other hand, in operations carried out by the Customs Protection teams of the Ministry of Trade in the first quarter of 2026, 233 vehicles that were attempted to be smuggled into the country illegally were seized. It was announced that the total market value of these vehicles was approximately 280 million 533 thousand lira. It was reported that the ongoing investigation is being expanded to address both tax loss and the fight against smuggling.