One of Türkiye's major private banks refuted allegations Tuesday that it played a role in an alleged scam targeting numerous football stars, including Arda Turan and Fernando Muslera, orchestrated by a former branch manager through a pyramid scheme.
Seçil Erzan, the ex-branch manager of Denizbank, is facing a 216-year prison sentence, as sought by an Istanbul prosecutor, on charges of defrauding a group of celebrities, including Turan, the former Barcelona midfielder and Galatasaray goalkeeper Muslera.
The October indictment outlines that Erzan allegedly swindled approximately $44 million from 18 individuals, enticing them with promises of substantial returns on investments in a purported "secret special fund."
According to the indictment, Erzan persuaded football stars to invest by claiming that iconic former player and Turkish national team coach Fatih Terim had also invested in the fund.
She partly paid some of the returns to some of the investors, but she failed to pay any returns or principal money to most of the investors, according to the indictment.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç on Wednesday said the indictment related to the scandal had been accepted. He said the second hearing in the case would take place on Jan. 12.
"There are 7 defendants and 18 complainants, and this indictment has been accepted by Istanbul 41st Heavy Penal Court," Tunç told reporters.
Expressing confidence in the judiciary's investigation into the allegations, Tunç stated, "Through the judicial process, the most accurate decision will be reached regarding who is guilty and who is innocent."
Erzan pleaded guilty, but said in mitigation that she paid back the principal money of almost all investors. She was not able to pay some of the returns she promised, she said.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Denizbank categorically denied any knowledge of the fund, emphasizing that all transactions occurred outside the banking system. The bank also rejected allegations that its board members were aware of or involved in the scheme.
Denizbank noticed the transactions on April 7 when some of the alleged victims notified the bank about Erzan's fund. The bank promptly handed over its internal investigation file to the prosecutor's office on April 10, the statement said.
"There is no record of that pyramid scheme at DenizBank," it said.
Erzan, who has been in custody since April 11, and six other individuals are accused of "aggravated fraud" and "document forgery."
Denizbank is owned by Dubai’s largest lender, the Emirates NBD, which acquired the Turkish bank from Russia’s Sberbank in 2019 for about $2.7 billion.