Ministry forms team to spot financial misconduct among influencers

ANKARA

In the wake of the high-profile arrest of Turkish influencer Dilan Polat and her husband on charges of money laundering and tax evasion, the Treasury and Finance Ministry has established a team to investigate social media figures.

The move comes as authorities intensify efforts to combat financial crimes within the influencer community.

The team – comprised of revenue experts, tax inspectors and Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) experts – is conducting tax audits on influencers. MASAK intervenes if there are suspicions of money laundering, and any detected criminal offenses are promptly reported to the prosecutor's office.

While the primary focus has been on tax examinations, the team has unveiled a range of unconventional channels through which influencers are allegedly funneling black money. Contrary to common belief that beauty centers were the primary method, the investigation has revealed the involvement of influencers in activities such as virtual illegal betting.

Despite a trend among influencers to delete their accounts following the crackdown on the Polat couple, the experts assert that their investigations remain unaffected. The team can trace retrospective movements even after an account closure, scrutinizing assets like real estate and automobiles.

Social media influencers in Türkiye are subject to withholding tax based on their income, with exemptions for earnings up to 1.9 million Turkish Liras ($65,800) as of this year. To qualify for the exemption, influencers must collect all social media revenues through a Turkish bank.

A 15 percent withholding tax is applied to these deposits, with additional income tax filings required for earnings surpassing the 1.9 million lira threshold.

Anticipating an omnibus bill to be discussed in parliament, the scope of taxation may extend to individuals promoting courses and training products online.

In 2022, nearly 8,500 social media influencer taxpayers paid 91 million liras in taxes on 606 million liras revenue. In 2023, 138 million liras were deducted from over 9,600 taxpayers' revenue of 921 million liras.

Several influencers who found themselves under the legal spotlight after Polat’s' case – including Merve Nur Korkut, İleyda Topal, and Tayyar Taylan Öz with his wife, Özlem Öz – continue their posts despite investigations. Others – such as Eylül Öztürk, Feyzanur Başar and İlke Ela Göz – face travel bans and asset seizures upon the request of a public prosecutor's office in Istanbul.