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Turkish authorities discovered over 500 kilograms of gold hidden in a house cellar during raids connected to alleged fraud at Istanbul Gold Refinery, one of the world's second-largest gold refineries, according to a report by journalist Timur Soykan in the Turkish media outlet Birgun on Friday.
The gold, valued at approximately ₺3 billion ($71.4M), was found in the Florya neighborhood residence of N.K., sister of company founder Fazli Halac, as investigators executed simultaneous raids at 24 locations on October 6, Soykan reported.
The discovery came as part of a broader investigation into allegations that company owner Ozcan Halac orchestrated a fraud scheme involving $543 million in false export declarations and the creation of 17 shell companies to obtain state incentives illegally, according to Soykan's reporting.
At least twenty people were arrested in connection with the scheme, according to Soykan's reporting, including company owner Ozcan Halac, General Manager Aysen Esen, and company employee Erkam Halac.
The prosecutor alleges that Halac established a criminal organization and orchestrated fraud through 17 shell companies.
"Imported gold was represented as Turkish-produced, generating foreign currency for products that were never exported, allowing the defendants to obtain state incentives illegally," prosecutors alleged, according to Soykan's account.
"The state suffered a loss of $12 million through this fraud scheme," according to the report.
The investigation, led by the Turkish Prosecution Service and the Istanbul Gendarmerie Command, executed simultaneous raids on October 6 at the facilities of Istanbul Gold Refinery, which ranked fifth on Türkiye's list of 500 largest industrial establishments.
The Halac family claimed the gold, valued at approximately ₺3 billion, belonged to Fazli Halac and was left as an inheritance, according to Soykan's reporting. However, authorities are investigating the gold's origin and connection to the refinery operation.
Authorities seized documents at the residence and are examining their connection to the alleged fraud scheme. Istanbul Gendarmerie Command conducted the search at the Florya residence, where the gold was concealed in the cellar, Soykan reported.
The discovery has prompted investigators to examine whether the hidden treasure represents proceeds from the alleged fraud operation or if it was accumulated through legitimate business activities, according to sources cited in Soykan's investigation.
The 500-kilogram cache represents a significant portion of the assets, particularly given that Istanbul Gold Refinery and its subsidiary, Gramaltin Precious Metals Refinery Industry Trade Inc., report total assets of ₺4 billion ($95.4M).
The company reported net sales of ₺230 billion ($5.48 billion) in 2023.
The scale of the hidden gold cache also dwarfs the alleged $12 million state loss claimed by prosecutors, suggesting that the actual scope of the operation may be considerably broader than the fraud allegations indicate.
"Prosecutors allege that Halac directed the creation of shell companies, often naming them using silent letters from the names of company employees or former workers," according to Soykan's reporting.
According to the allegations detailed in Soykan's investigation, Halac even established a shell company through the refinery's security officer. Adnan Baspinar, listed as a security guard at the company, founded a company called BSPN Iron and Steel Trade Inc., which subsequently received ₺12 million 631 thousand in state support, prosecutors claim.
Most of the shell companies appeared to list mining and iron-steel operations as their business activities. The majority of these companies shared the same address in the Yenibosna district, according to prosecutors cited by Soykan.
"The founding dates of these shell companies were clustered close together, suggesting coordinated establishment," the Turkish journalist reported.
Kursat Ozturk, an official at Kuyumcukent Operations Inc., was also among the suspects. "Prosecutors allege he coordinated with IAR management and participated in the shell company network that illegally received state incentives," according to journalist's account.
"The Halac family transformed Istanbul Gold Refinery into a gold empire, though their history includes tragedy and dispute," according to Soykan's reporting.
Omer Halac took over Istanbul Gold Refinery in 2002, a facility established initially by the state in 1996. The refinery processes gold in various forms — extracted from mines and recovered from scrap — and converts it into internationally valid bullion. "The company also operates mines abroad to source materials," according to Soykan's background.
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