Doctor wanted by FBI turns up in Turkey

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Hürriyet photo

A Turkish doctor wanted by the FBI on embezzlement charges has been discovered practicing in a hospital in Istanbul’s Nişantaşı neighborhood, daily Hürriyet has reported.  

Dr. Mert Kıvanç has been on the FBI wanted list for allegedly embezzling 3.7 million dollars from insurance companies. An investigation led the FBI to a hospital in Nişantaşı where Kıvanç has been receiving patients.  

Kıvanç allegedly left the United States after transferring his assets and his multimillion-dollar fortune to his parents, FBI records stated.  

All of Kıvanç’s financial assets have been frozen by FBI as a “precaution,” Hürriyet reported.  

Kıvanç is charged with billing insurance companies excessive amounts for a drug used in rheumatic diseases.  

"I came to Turkey in 2007 for paid exemption from military service," Kıvanç was quoted as saying.

The hospital was responsible for the billing scam and is now trying to frame him, Kıvanç said.  

Kıvanç is a doctor of Internal Diseases and Rheumatology and a recipient of the prestigious board certified license from the American Board of Internal Medicine.