Authorities in Turkey have seized 6 companies and appointed trustees to a further 10, as well as initiating legal proceedings against 27 suspects, as part of a major investigation into alleged tax fraud and irregularities in the fuel sector.
Turkish Minister of Justice, Akın Gürlek, announced on social media the launch of a large-scale operation targeting the fuel and LPG sectors, according to the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet. The investigation is reported to have uncovered a corporate structure operating in the fuel sector that was involved in issuing false invoices and fabricating exports.
As he explained, the operation was carried out in coordination with the Istanbul Gendarmerie Command, the Tax Inspection Board, the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), the General Directorate of Customs Control, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) and the Savings Deposit Guarantee Fund (TMSF), as part of an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Anatolia (the Asian side of the city).
The network imported 400,000 tonnes of LPG annually
“As part of the investigation, it has been established that approximately between 350,000 and 400,000 tonnes of LPG were imported annually through a corporate structure operating in the fuel sector, and that the obligations arising from Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) and Value Added Tax (KDV) were being evaded through a system of false invoices and fictitious export transactions,” stated Gürlek.
“In this context, simultaneous operations were carried out this morning in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, Mardin, Konya, Hatay and Niğde,” the minister said in an official statement published on the social media platform X.
“A total of six companies were seized by the state, trustees were appointed to ten companies, and legal proceedings were initiated against 27 suspects,” announced Gürlek, who also emphasised that “we will not tolerate any organised structure that undermines our state’s tax security, economic order and public resources. We will trace the profits obtained through criminal activities and resolutely pursue legal proceedings against organisations that harm the public interest through false invoicing schemes and fictitious exports.”
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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