Bank accused of convincing Erzan for testimony in high profile scam case

In a widely covered case in which numerous Turkish football stars were allegedly defrauded, some of the victims have filed a criminal complaint against the bank accused of delaying reporting the location of the main suspect, the bank manager, to the authorities in order to persuade her to testify in favor of the institution.

The trial of Denizbank branch manager Seçil Erzan, alongside six others, accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme under the guise of a supposedly lucrative "secret fund," bilking a total of $44 million and 15 million Turkish Liras from 29 individuals has been dominating the country's agenda for weeks.

Among the 10 individuals implicated in the complaint, including managers Hakan Ateş and Sermin Tekin, several other bank executives and a bank security officer, it is alleged that they withheld Erzan's location for three days to compel her to provide a statement in favor of the bank.

The complaint further contended that they engaged in actions such as fabricating false evidence, deleting records from the suspect's phone and breaking the phone, all aimed at obstructing the legal accountability of the top-level bank management.

According to the filed petition, Denizbank lawyers submitted a complaint to the prosecutor's office on April 7, requesting Erzan's detention. However, on April 8, upon learning Erzan was at her mother's house in the neighboring province of Tekirdağ, rather than sharing this information with the authorities or law enforcement, the bank officials reached her.

After locating Erzan, the bank management allegedly instructed regional director Tekin to establish contact with her. During a three-hour meeting, Tekin reportedly attempted to persuade Erzan to come to the bank's headquarters. According...