05.01.2026 17:32
In the case of bank manager Seçil Erzan, who was sentenced to 102 years and 4 months in prison and fined 753,880 lira for allegedly defrauding many individuals, including notable names such as Fatih Terim, Arda Turan, Fernando Muslera, and Emre Belözoğlu, a reasoned decision has been announced. The reasoned decision stated that Erzan, who claimed that the fund was in the name of Fatih Terim, had impaired the will of the participants through her actions.
It was stated that it is a highly profitable and reliable fund, and that well-known football players such as Arda Turan, Fernando Muslera, Emre Belözoğlu, and Selçuk İnan are among more than 30 people who were defrauded of millions of lira, with the bank branch manager Seçil Erzan being sentenced to 102 years and 4 months in prison and a judicial fine of 753,880 lira, and the reasoned decision in her case was announced.
"SHE SAID THE FUND WAS IN THE NAME OF FATIH TERIM"
It was noted that she stated the fund was in the name of Fatih Terim and that Terim also earned from this fund, saying that the more money they invested, the higher the return would be. In the reasoned decision announced, it was stated that Seçil Erzan told the participants that there was a fund with a very high return at the bank and that not everyone could buy into this fund, that the fund was in the name of Fatih Terim, and that the heads of the fund at that time were Hakan Ateş and Mehmet Aydoğdu, who served as general manager and deputy general manager at the bank, and later were tried as 'defendants', and that the fund was a closed fund, reiterating that Fatih Terim earned from this fund and that the more money they invested, the higher the return would be.
"IT IMPAIRED THE WILL OF THE VICTIMS"
In the decision, it was expressed that Seçil Erzan told the participants that the money for the fund was invested in foreign currency, that the money was physically taken to the bank's headquarters and received in cash, and that it was entered into the system from there, which is why it was not visible in the application, thus generally impairing the will of the participants. It was recorded that Erzan initially returned more than the returns of the money she received from the participants, thereby reinforcing their trust, and that by promising them they would earn again, she took some of the money from some participants, all of it from others, and even more from some, ultimately leading to the revelation of the incident as she could not make payments within the system.
"NO MATERIAL ASSET OF THE BANK WAS USED"
In the reasoned decision, it was stated that Seçil Erzan did not act on behalf of the bank as part of a bank activity and that no material asset of the bank was used during the commission of the crime, and that merely being a bank manager was not sufficient to accept that the money taken in cash from the victims was used as a tool in the crime of fraud against the bank or credit institution, and therefore, Erzan's actions would not constitute qualified fraud by 'using the bank or credit institutions as a tool'.
"NO MONEY ENTERED THE BANKING SYSTEM IN TERMS OF BANKING EMBEZZLEMENT"
Additionally, in the reasoned decision, it was stated that since there was a definitive decision regarding the defendant for the crime of banking embezzlement, it was not procedurally possible to conduct a trial for this crime, and that no money had entered the banking system in terms of banking embezzlement, and that for the embezzlement crime to be applicable, the money and other assets that the perpetrator embezzled must belong to the bank, and that embezzling the property of third parties could only give rise to other crimes such as theft or fraud, thus it was expressed that Erzan, by taking advantage of the honesty and innocence of the victims and obtaining their signatures, made deficient payments from the amounts on the payroll, which constituted not embezzlement but a chain fraud crime.