17.08.2026 15:50
In the testimony of the arrested Alihan Kuriş, striking differences emerged between MASAK and GİB records and his statements. While Kuriş said he remembered his share in Arden Gıda as 5 percent, records showed that his stake once reached 37.5 percent. When asked who the shares he transferred in 2021 went to, he replied, 'I don't remember, but it could have been my brother.' The company's banking transaction volume between 2017 and June 2026 was recorded as 6.52 billion TL.
The details of the statements given by Alihan Kuriş, who was arrested within the scope of an investigation into a criminal organization for profit, at the prosecutor's office and police stages have been revealed. The significant discrepancies between the official data in the reports of the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and Kuriş's statements drew attention.
MAJOR CONTRADICTION IN PARTNERSHIP RATIO: 5 PERCENT OR 37.5 PERCENT?
One of the most apparent contradictions in Kuriş's statements during the investigation emerged in the partnership ratios of the Arden Gıda company. In his response to the questions directed at him regarding the company, Kuriş claimed to remember his share ratio in Arden Gıda as 5 percent. However, the records of the Revenue Administration (GİB), which were included in the statement transcript, did not confirm this statement. According to official records, while Kuriş's share fluctuated at 10 percent, 2 percent, and 5 percent in different periods; between February 12, 2020, and July 28, 2021, it rose to 37.5 percent. Despite these official records being clearly read to him, Kuriş continued to maintain that he only remembered his share as 5 percent.
COULDN'T REMEMBER HIS BROTHER IN THE BILLION-LIRA SHARE TRANSFER
Serious inconsistencies were also observed in Kuriş's statements regarding his tenure in the company and the share transfer. At the beginning of the police interrogation, he stated that, as far as he remembered, he was a shareholder in Arden Gıda between 2003 and 2023. However, when the interrogation turned to MASAK's findings, he changed his statement and claimed that he transferred all his shares in July 2021. When Kuriş, who reiterated at the prosecutor's office stage that he left the company in 2021, was asked to whom he transferred his shares, it was noteworthy that he answered, "I don't remember who I transferred them to, but it could be my brother." According to official records, the said shares were directly transferred to his brother Hilmi Tuna Kuriş.
MASAK REPORT: 6.52 BILLION LIRA TRANSACTION VOLUME AND SUSPICIOUS TRANSFERS
The most comprehensive part of the interrogation consisted of the financial movements of Arden Gıda, to which Kuriş stated he transferred his shares. MASAK data revealed the enormous increase in the company's financial volume. Some striking financial data in the report are as follows:
- Total banking transaction volume: 6 billion 520 million TL between 2017 and June 2026.
- The company's gross sales revenue: 1 billion 575 million TL in 2025 alone.
- Cash deposited into the company's account: 76 million 537 thousand TL in the relevant period.
- Electronic money transfers: A total of 52 million 381 thousand TL, mostly carried out in 273 transactions via SİPAY.
In the MASAK report, not only the size of the figures but also the source and movement style of the money were found suspicious. It was stated that high amounts of cash inflows, whose source required explanation, were made to the companies, and these funds were transferred to different companies. The existence of both high-value purchases and high-value sales transactions between the same companies raised suspicion of "fake invoicing." Additionally, the division of a company with a capital of 200 million lira in 2025 to establish a new company with a capital of 1 billion 358 million lira was evaluated as an organized step aimed at complicating the tracking of the financial chain.
NOTEWORTHY COMMERCIAL RELATIONS
It was determined that one of Arden Gıda's highest-volume commercial transactions was with the company Akdeniz Toros Et. While a transaction volume of approximately 339.6 million lira was detected between the two companies in bank records between 2017 and June 2026, it was observed that the purchases from this company exceeded 391 million lira in 2025 alone. Kuriş claimed that he did not know the managers of this company and that he was only a customer of their products. Additionally, a total of over 36 million lira was detected entering from the MS Yapı Proje company in 2025 with the descriptions "real estate prepayment" and "title deed fee."
After the reading of MASAK's findings of billions of lira in transaction volume, cash inflows of unknown origin, and suspicious invoices, Kuriş based his defense on the date he left the company. Kuriş, claiming that the data mentioned in the MASAK report belonged to 2023 and after, said, "I transferred my shares in July 2021." However, in the report read to him, it was explicitly stated that the suspicious financial transactions and notable increases began after 2020. Kuriş insisted that the transactions deemed irregular occurred after 2022 and argued that he had no connection to them.