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Thirty-two suspects, including ringleader Alihan Kuris, were formally arrested on Sunday in an investigation into the Alihan Kuris For-Profit Criminal Organization, according to a statement from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on X.
Prosecutors placed six additional suspects under judicial control, including house arrest.
"Within the scope of the activities of the Alihan Kuris For-Profit Criminal Organization, 38 suspects taken into custody were brought before our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in custody, and all of the suspects were referred to the Criminal Court of Peace with a request for arrest," the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said in a written statement.
"Of the 38 suspects referred, an arrest decision was issued for 32 suspects, and a judicial control decision was issued for six suspects," the prosecutor's office added.
The statement said the investigation "continues in a multifaceted manner and with diligence."
The court ordered the arrest of Alihan Kuris, Fahri Candemir, Suleyman Kahraman, Recep Okumuslar, Seref Toprak, Mehmet Hilmi Molla, Nezih Murat Buyukgoze, Metin Guder, Hilmi Senol, Suleyman Hilmi Dinc, Yunus Aslan, Muharrem Hilmi Akbulut, among others.
6 other suspects, Yusuf Buyukgoze, Ahmet Gokcen, Omer Yilmaz, Ahmet Efe, Ismail Hakki Akgun and Selman Suleyman Keskekci, were placed under judicial control in the form of house arrest.
An initial report by Türkiye's Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), prepared as part of the investigation led by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, identified more than ₺66 billion ($1.3 billion) in transaction volume across companies linked to the organization.
The 168-page report said "there is suspicion that the financial transactions, whose source is in question, may have been carried out as a result of an organized effort," though it did not draw final conclusions.
The report focused on Guleryuz Kuyumculuk Turizm ve Otomotiv A.S., which MASAK calculated had a banking transaction volume of ₺66.211 billion ($1.38 billion) between 2017 and 2026, including ₺17.26 billion ($360.5 million) in incoming funds and ₺18.32 billion ($382.7 million) in outgoing funds over the period.
Cash deposits into the company's accounts totaled ₺26.213 billion ($547.6 million), while cash withdrawals totaled ₺4.415 billion ($92.2 million), the report said.
The report noted ₺2.089 billion ($43.6 million) in cash deposits and ₺1.556 billion ($32.5 million) in cash withdrawals in 2023, and ₺1.417 billion ($29.6 million) in deposits and ₺826 million ($17.2 million) in withdrawals in 2024.
The report also examined foreign-linked transactions by Istanbul Hisar Turizm ve Ticaret A.S., finding that outflows connected to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates alone totaled approximately ₺8 billion ($167.1 million) among transactions of ₺1 million or more.
Transactions linked to Saudi Arabia showed outflows of ₺4.863 billion ($101.5 million) against inflows of about ₺189.358 million ($3.95 million), while UAE-linked outflows totaled ₺3.163 billion ($66 million) against inflows of roughly ₺18 million, the report said.
The MASAK report also listed outflows to accounts in Israel, Uzbekistan, India, the United States, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Spain, the United Kingdom, Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Germany, Albania and other countries.
Separately, the report flagged Istanbul Hisar Saglik Yatırım ve Turizm Ticaret A.S., established Nov. 18, 2025, with declared capital of ₺1.358 billion ($28.3 million), as showing total recorded banking activity of only ₺34,176, with zero gross and net sales and no recorded goods transactions.
The report said most of the company's capital appeared to have financed a "subsidiaries" account, but that MASAK could not identify the affiliated company through tax authority (VEDOP, GIB) records, calling the lack of active commercial activity despite the high declared capital "quite notable."
The MASAK report also documented large foreign-currency transfers into the accounts of Akdeniz Toros Et ve Et Mamulleri Sanayi ve Dis Ticaret A.S.
In July 2018, $2.5 million and then $2.6 million arrived from a company identified as FIDATO General Trading on consecutive days. The following day, the report said, $2.6 million, $1.1836 million, and $1.31645 million were withdrawn in cash from the account.
The report also cited a $2.365 million transfer from an entity identified as "Shanghai Omega FZE" on Jan. 12, 2017, followed by a similar cash withdrawal the next day, and a $2.25 million transfer from FIDATO on Sept. 26, 2019, followed four days later by transfers of $1.8 million to Istanbul Hisar Turizm and $450,000 to Camlica Basim Yayin.
On Nov. 15, 2022, the report said, ₺18.392 million was deposited into the same company's account with the notation "cash deposit as Nurettin Kaya delivery," which was transferred the following day to an energy company with the notation "advance payment for solar panel purchase"; a similar transfer of roughly $1 million was made to the same energy company on Nov. 7, 2023.
Istanbul Hisar Turizm's accounts also showed numerous large cash deposits between 2017 and 2024, some carrying notations such as "deposited on behalf of partner Irfan Yilmaz," including $2 million on June 25, 2024, $1.2 million on July 31, 2024, and $1 million on Jan. 4, 2024, plus two separate $1 million deposits in December 2023.
At Hisar Saglik Hizmetleri Egitim-Arastirma ve Tıbbi Cihazlar A.S., billions of liras in cash movements carried notations referencing "Abdullah Ozcan Yavuz delivery" and deposits made "on behalf of Abdullah Ozcan Yavuz by Kasim Arinc."
The report said, "the source of the high cash inflows that emerged particularly in 2024 needs to be clarified."
MASAK records also showed Umran Egitim A.S. had more than ₺1 billion in inflows and hundreds of millions of liras in outflows between 2017 and 2026, with funds deposited or received from associations and foundations transferred to other companies the same day or within the following days.
The MASAK report separately flagged a June 1, 2026 transaction in which ₺9.3 million was sent to an individual named Mehmet Toktas with the notation "payment for 46 head of sacrificial cattle," which was returned the next day to an Umran Egitim account with the note "incorrect money transfer," before an identical sum was then sent to a person named Ahmet Seven with the notation "producer payment for 46 head of sacrificial cattle."
The report noted a series of large cash deposits into the company account around the same dates, followed by large outflows to various individuals.
The Gumussoy Sevim Kuran Okutma Vakfi foundation, also named in the investigation, had a banking transaction volume of approximately ₺567 million between 2017 and 2026, according to the MASAK report.
Funds arriving at the foundation's accounts, including cash deposits and inflows labeled as "donations," were subsequently sent to various companies in large transfers, the report said, including approximately ₺52.1 million across 142 transactions to Umran Egitim and approximately ₺38.9 million across 83 transactions to Yavuzlar Grup Insaat.
The MASAK report said it found "dense connections," both in bank transfers and in goods purchase-and-sale records, among the organizations named in the investigation, including Umran Egitim, Akdeniz Toros, Camlica Basim Yayin, Istanbul Hisar Turizm, Hisar Saglik and the Gumussoy Sevim Kuran Okutma Vakfi foundation.
The report said a significant portion of the examined companies showed sharp increases in financial transaction volumes and goods purchase-and-sale amounts, particularly after 2020, and more markedly from 2022 onward.
Common characteristics flagged in the report included companies receiving funds from payment institutions, high cash circulation, unexplained cash deposits by partners, and the rapid transfer of those funds to other companies.
The report concluded there was "suspicion that the financial transactions whose source is in question may have been carried out as a result of an organized effort," in relation to companies and organizations connected to the "Alihan Kuris for-profit criminal organization."
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ordered the detention of 49 suspects on Aug. 13 as part of the investigation, initially apprehending 33.
The prosecutor's office said the investigation is being conducted on charges of "establishing and managing a criminal organization," "membership in a criminal organization," "laundering assets derived from crime," "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations," and "violation of the Tax Procedure Law."
Separately, police searched a building in Istanbul's Umraniye district after receiving a tip that documents connected to the organization and the investigation were being destroyed.
Officers from the Istanbul Provincial Police Department found the tip to be accurate and seized documents that had been shredded for destruction at an address on Cengiz Topel Street in the Namik Kemal neighborhood.
A crowd gathered outside the address during the search and protested the police presence.
Armored vehicles and riot police were deployed to secure the operation.
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