The General Manager of Denizbank, Hakan Ateş, is facing a request for up to 240 years in prison for fraud.

The public has been closely following the fraud case known as the "high-yield secret fund," and an indictment has been prepared against Hakan Ateş and Mehmet Aydoğdu, alleging that they committed the crime of "qualified fraud" against 24 complainants, with a request for prison sentences ranging from 72 to 240 years.

24 NAMES FILED COMPLAINTS

In the indictment prepared by the Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Hakan Ateş and Mehmet Aydoğdu were named as suspects, with a request to merge the case with the one being heard at the Istanbul 41st Heavy Penal Court.

The indictment states that 24 individuals, including Fatih Terim, Arda Turan, Buse Terim, Emre Belözoğlu, Emre Çolak, Fernando Muslera, and Selçuk İnan, are listed as "complainants."

"CANNOT TAKE MONEY FROM CUSTOMERS UNDER THE NAME OF ILLEGAL FUND"

The indictment mentions that Seçil Erzan is the manager of a branch of Denizbank, which has 600 branches, and emphasizes that it is not possible for any branch manager to take money from complainants under the name of an "illegal fund," as stated in Erzan's testimony. It was noted that the suspects Hakan Ateş and Mehmet Aydoğdu, who were in close communication and relationship with some of the complainants, were assessed to be aware of the "high-interest yielding illegal fund."

"THEY HAD INFORMATION REGARDING MONEY TRANSACTIONS"

The indictment states that in Seçil Erzan's statement, it was mentioned that the suspects had information about the money transactions between her and the complainants. The indictment evaluated that "large amounts of money entering and exiting a bank, all employees witnessing this situation, the money entering the bank not being recorded in official customer accounts, and the money transactions taking place in front of cameras in the manager's room at the bank's Levent branch" were significant.

It was emphasized in the indictment that the high-value loan transaction of complainant Arda Turan was expedited and carried out with the knowledge and instruction of the suspects, and that the payment of Fatih Terim's loan debt by Seçil Erzan at the instruction of Mehmet Aydoğdu demonstrated a unity of thought and action between the suspects and Erzan.

For this reason, the indictment stated that the issue of the fraud crime attributed to the suspects should be evaluated together, and the case should be merged with the file being heard at the Istanbul 41st Heavy Penal Court due to legal and factual connections.

HAKAN ATEŞ HAD FILED A COMPLAINT

In the indictment, Denizbank General Manager Hakan Ateş, whose statement was included, stated that after learning about the fraud case on April 7, 2023, they went to the prosecutor's office with the bank's lawyers to file a complaint. He mentioned that they spoke on the phone with complainant Fatih Terim on the same day and arranged to meet the next day, stating that Terim came with complainants Turan and Belözoğlu and claimed that he had no connection to the incident.

Ateş stated that in the complaint petition made by the representatives of complainants Selçuk İnan, Emrah Çolak, Musa Mert Çetin, and Nestor Fernando Muslera, he did not accept the allegations that "Seçil Erzan established a special fund under the leadership of Denizbank AŞ's CEO Hakan Ateş and Executive Board Member Mehmet Aydoğdu, and that this fund was managed by Hakan Ateş and Mehmet Aydoğdu."

Ateş argued that this issue has no connection to the truth, stating, "The establishment of any fund is subject to the permission of the Capital Markets Board. It is not possible for us to take any initiative in this regard. These funds are already open to the whole world over the internet. There cannot be a fund that can be described as hidden, secret, or special, not only in our bank but anywhere in the world. This matter is a fabrication of people who could gain profit from it."

"IT'S STRANGE THAT THEY DIDN'T ASK ME BEFORE GIVING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS"

Ateş expressed that he did not accept the accusations against him and stated:

"Fatih Terim, Arda Turan, and Emre Belözoğlu are people who can call me at any time for even the smallest banking transaction. In fact, Fatih Terim has called me regarding a minor loan issue. It is very strange that people who can call me in this way did not ask me before handing over those millions of dollars to a person named Seçil Erzan. Even after the money started not being repaid, they did not inform me about their grievances by calling me until April 7."

"I WAS NOT AWARE"

Former Denizbank Deputy General Manager Mehmet Aydoğdu stated that he is a good Galatasaray fan and said, "Denizbank is the bank that provides the most loans to sports clubs. My name probably came up here because I am a Galatasaray fan. No branch manager is subordinate to me. I have no involvement or knowledge regarding this matter." He stated that they filed a complaint for "defamation" due to these allegations, saying, "I am not a deputy general manager related to the fund, and I do not know about matters related to funds. Additionally, a fake email was arranged regarding me. The subject of the email was related to my approval regarding the fund. As a result of the investigation conducted by the relevant authorities, it was revealed that the email was fake. It was found that this email was used by Semih Kaya. We also filed a complaint regarding this matter."

Stating that there are 24 deputy general managers in the bank, Aydoğdu claimed that he had no knowledge of the fraud case, and he stated:

"I was not aware of the establishment and operation of the fund in question. I know Arda Turan. We met and chatted at a restaurant called Bebek Balıkçısı before the events came to light. He did not mention any grievances to me here or anywhere else. I also saw Ayhan Akman, and we chatted in the same way. He also did not mention any grievances. These meetings took place before December 2022. I saw Volkan Bahçekapılı next to Fatih Terim years ago, and I saw Emre Belözoğlu after April 7. I do not know the other individuals. The fund that is claimed to be managed by Seçil Erzan and that we established is not within the knowledge of our bank."

UP TO 240 YEARS IN PRISON IS REQUESTED

In the indictment, it was requested that Hakan Ateş and Mehmet Aydoğdu be sentenced to imprisonment for 72 to 240 years for the crime of "qualified fraud" against 24 complainants. The court panel is currently reviewing the indictment sent to the Istanbul 41st Heavy Penal Court.