Students’ bank accounts used in money laundering scheme

ISTANBUL

Hundreds of students have been implicated in a money laundering scheme, where many were tricked into renting out their bank accounts, resulting in substantial prison sentences.

Turkish authorities are grappling with recent revelations of a disturbing trend, as they uncover a large-scale money laundering operation involving criminal organizations using students' bank accounts. Large sums of money were transferred in and out of these accounts, leading to severe penalties for the students involved.

The accusations stem from the indictment against social media influencer Dilan Polat and her husband, Engin Polat, who are on trial for alleged money laundering. Some students are now serving time for “qualified fraud.”

Ömer Raif Fişekçi, 24, a former student at Mersin University, has been imprisoned in the northwestern province of Balıkesir for a year.

His mother, Güler Kavak, said, "Someone approached my son's school and took the cards of dozens of students. They claimed they needed additional cards due to links through T. My son gave his card in 2022, and 43 transactions were made within 15 hours. He now has 15 cases against him, with a three-year, four-month sentence from one file. Other cases are pending. My son was deceived. He aimed to become a police officer but had to take the police exam in handcuffs in prison."

Kaan Cansu, 24, a civil engineering student at Akdeniz University, has been in prison for about eight months.

His brother, Sercan Cansu, stated, "My brother has 30 cases and a 120-year sentence. He must serve 28 years. While not completely innocent, these students were deceived. If not for prison, my brother would have graduated this year. He just received 6,000 Turkish Liras for his card."