(Bloomberg) -- The chief executive officer of UAE lender Emirates NBD PJSC’s Turkey unit Denizbank AS has been indicted for his alleged role in a ponzi scheme that targeted famous footballers.
The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office is seeking prison sentences of up to 240 years of prison each for Hakan Ates and his former deputy Mehmet Aydogdu on charges of aggravated fraud, according to a copy of the indictment seen by Bloomberg and reported by state-run Anadolu Agency late on Tuesday.
It alleges that Ates and Aydogdu were aware of an “illegal fund” run by ex-branch manager Secil Erzan into which prominent footballers including former and current players of Galatasaray, Barcelona and Inter Milan invested.
Ates and Aydogdu denied the allegations, Anadolu reported. Denizbank, a key lender to Turkey’s football clubs to help restructure their debts, said in a statement that it hasn’t been informed about the indictment. The bank said it wouldn’t comment further when contacted by Bloomberg.
Court documents alleged that Erzan encouraged the players to give her money to invest with promises of unrealistic returns, sometimes receiving deposits in bags of cash, but the scheme unraveled as repayments became increasingly unsustainable. Erzan, who’s in prison while she’s tried for fraud and forgery, admitted raising money for the fund but said both Ates and Aydogdu knew about it.
Ponzi Scheme Promising 250% Return Ensnares Turkish Soccer Stars
Erzan said in her testimony that she had started a “Terim Fund,” named after former AC Milan, Panathinaikos and Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim, whom she claimed was an investor.
Denizbank said in November 2023 that it was unaware of the transactions and initial investigations by a prosecutor showed no crime was committed. But days later President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said top executives of the bank were being probed for their alleged role in the case.
--With assistance from Ercan Ersoy and Firat Kozok.
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