23.05.2025 10:13
The Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has put Avcılar Hospital, which was closed as part of the 'Yenidoğan Çetesi' investigation, up for sale. The hospital, which is being sold for 768 million lira, will be auctioned on July 2 in Istanbul.
The Avcılar Hospital, which was closed and appointed a trustee as part of the investigation into the "Newborn Gang" that came to the fore due to infant deaths in Istanbul, has been put up for sale by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF). TMSF is preparing to transfer the hospital's commercial and economic integrity through a tender process.
TMSF ANNOUNCED IT VIA THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE
The sale announcement by TMSF was published in today's issue of the Official Gazette. The statement indicated that the sale of the commercial and economic integrity of Avcılar Hospital would be carried out using both closed envelope and open auction methods.
AUCTION PRICE IS 768 MILLION LIRA
Those wishing to participate in the auction must deposit a guarantee of 76 million 810 thousand lira for the sale, which has a determined base price of 768 million 100 thousand lira. Closed bids must be submitted to TMSF by July 1 at 16:00.
OPEN AUCTION WILL BE HELD ON JULY 2
The open auction, which will take place after the closed bids, will be held on July 2, 2025, at 14:30 at TMSF's building in Esentepe, Istanbul. The sales process is also significant for the future of this hospital, which is the subject of one of Turkey's most notable cases in the healthcare sector.
THE NEWBORN GANG CASE SHOCKED TURKEY
The indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office states that the defendant doctor Fırat Sarı led the criminal organization, and the management was carried out by defendant doctor İlker Gönen and 112 Emergency Call Center ambulance driver Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir.
The indictment notes that the main purpose of the criminal organization was to eliminate the 112 dispatch system of the neonatal intensive care units they took over, ensure their occupancy, manipulate the patients' levels, and receive maximum payments from the Social Security Institution (SGK).
The indictment states that the defendants exaggerated the condition of the infant patients, ensuring that they stayed longer than necessary, thus collecting high fees from SGK and charging extra money from some relatives of the patients.
It is reported in the indictment that instead of transferring infant patients to hospitals that would provide appropriate healthcare services, they were admitted to hospitals chosen by the suspects, which appeared profitable for the organization, and that a large portion of the profits was shared with the defendant members of the organization who were healthcare workers.
The indictment states that the main goal was to obtain the maximum financial gain rather than improving the health status of the infants.
REQUESTS FOR PUNISHMENT
The indictment requests a total of 177 years and 6 months to 582 years and 9 months of imprisonment for defendants Fırat Sarı and İlker Gönen for "manslaughter by negligence" due to the deaths of 10 infants, "qualified fraud," and "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," with 10 counts for the first two charges and 11 counts for "forgery in official documents."
Defendant Gıyasettin Mert Özdemir is also requested to be sentenced to imprisonment of 180 years to 589 years and 9 months for "manslaughter by negligence," "unlawful acquisition of personal data," "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations," "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," and "forgery in official documents." Similar prison sentences are also anticipated for 44 defendants, 8 of whom are women.
The indictment also requests that legal entities responsible for obtaining material benefits through the crime of "fraud" be subjected to specific security measures, including closure and confiscation of their assets.
As part of the investigation, the licenses of 9 hospitals in Istanbul and 1 hospital in Çorlu, Tekirdağ have been revoked, and the infants and patients receiving treatment in these hospitals were transferred to public hospitals by ambulances.
Additionally, those who threatened the prosecutor Yavuz Engin, who is conducting the investigation into the newborn gang, with death in his office, have also been arrested.
Meanwhile, one of the defendants in the case, İlker Gönen, committed suicide in the prison where he was held in Antalya on February 1.
The indictment regarding the "Newborn Gang," which includes 13 defendants, has been merged with the main case file.
In the 57-page indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the "Newborn Gang," 13 individuals are listed as "suspects," and the Social Security Institution is listed as "the victim of the crime."
It is noted that the fugitive nurse Serenay Şenkalaycı is also listed as a suspect in both cases, and the indictment has been merged with the main case file, which is ongoing in the Bakırköy 22nd High Criminal Court regarding the "Newborn Gang."