Bank rejects responsibility in fraud case

ISTANBUL

In the first response to the prolonged controversy surrounding a bank manager accused of defrauding prominent footballers and business figures, the bank has denied the allegations of responsibility over the financial losses of the victims.

The bank asserted that all transactions between the manager and the victims occurred outside the bank's responsibility.

The trial of banker 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.

In a written statement on Nov. 28, Denizbank used the term "pyramid scheme," noting that the start of losses in the scheme dated back to a year ago, yet the first complaint was lodged in April.

The people who lost their money to the promise of high-yielding funds did all the transactions related to the funds outside the bank and based on Erzan’s personal recommendations, the private bank recalled.

The private bank emphasized that "there was no way for the individuals to know that they were in a chain outside the bank."

The statement underscored that the initial complaint to the prosecutor's office was made not by the victims but by the bank.

The bank argued that Erzan's promised high returns were exorbitant and inconsistent with economic and financial realities, suggesting that the victims should be aware of their participation in this deception.

"When the return expectations stated in the statements of the individuals are compared with the returns of ordinary banking investment products, they are high on a scale that does not comply with the realities of financial life. The claimants knew that the amounts they gave to Seçil Erzan were not in the banking system, that many of them were connected to each other, that they were involved in the Ponzi scheme largely by convincing each other, and that they showed the will to act jointly,” the statement argued.

The bank further explained that the claimants handed over their personal savings to Erzan outside the banking system, often in locations other than the branch premises, and some even chose to withdraw their assets from Denizbank before handing them over.

The bank interpreted this as evidence that the claimants were aware that their funds were being assessed in a pyramid scheme or similar structure outside the bank.

Regarding documents produced by Erzan, utilizing the bank's seal, the bank asserted that these papers held no validity as they were not printed by the bank. The bank regarded this as a method devised by the victims to prove their losses after realizing the collapse of the pyramid scheme.