Not an individual, but a result of the system

An investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has become a hot topic in Turkey. According to the prosecutor's indictment, the electronic signatures of numerous high-ranking public institution executives were forged, and many individuals were issued fake diplomas and documents.

The crimes alleged against the network, publicly known as the "Fake Diploma Gang," were not limited to forging diplomas and documents. The suspects reportedly raised GPAs in exchange for money, forged driver's licenses, and altered written exam and driving scores.

RECORD NUMBER OF FILES

Following the scandal that dominated Turkey's public awareness, a surge in Turkey's fraud record has drawn attention. It was determined that the number of fraud cases filed in criminal courts broke a record in 2024.

According to Ministry of Justice data, 214,230 fraud cases were filed in court in 2023. The number of cases increased by 37 percent to 292,484 in 2024. The number of fraud cases, by year, is as follows:

2006 : 17,986

2010 : 78,312

2018 : 121,710

2024 : 292,484

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CRIMES

The increase in the number of defendants in fraud cases and the crimes attributed to them was also noteworthy. The number of fraud defendants, which was 211,796 in 2023, was recorded as 257,170 in 2024. A similar pattern was observed in the number of crimes attributed to defendants. The number of crimes in fraud cases, which was 756,179 in 2023, reached 911,695 by the end of 2024.

The people are left helpless

CHP Deputy Gamze Akkuş İlgezdi, commenting on Türkiye's fraud data, noted the following:

Fraud is no longer an isolated incident; it has become a system-generated consequence. Such widespread fraud doesn't mean the public is prone to crime. The real problem is that people are left helpless. The ever-increasing financial hardship is driving people to despair. A society has been created that can't find work, can't pay its bills, and can't cover its debts. The government, however, continues to ignore these figures and ignore the cries of the judicial system.

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A GROUP OF MINORITIES HAVE BROUGHT THE COUNTRY TO THIS POSITION

While the fake diploma scandals continue, CHP Deputy Chairman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Namık Tan issued a statement regarding his allegations against Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan.

Underlining that a minority group has brought the country to this state, Tan said, “This small and tyrannical minority is tied to dark, Ikhwanist, Salafi, and sectarian intellectual structures imported from abroad, and their dominant method of doing business has always been taqiyya, or deception.”

Asking whether the Minister of Foreign Affairs has a valid university degree, Tan said: “The concrete answer to this concrete question is very simple: This nation is waiting for the diploma and the YÖK equivalence certificate to be presented by Minister Hakan Fidan, and for the YÖK to explain the equivalence it has recognized, if it is valid, with data.”

Resolving these doubts is not only a priority for the Minister's personal reputation, but also a paramount necessity for restoring his international reputation, a fundamental goal of foreign policy. Nuh Yılmaz, whose educational background I recommend inquiring about in addition to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, makes some statements on his LinkedIn profile that suggest he is quite honest.

Yılmaz states that he started at Trent University in Ontario, Canada, and George Mason University (GMU) in Virginia, USA, but dropped out of both schools. After 12 years, Yılmaz left GMU, but for some reason, he enrolled at Yıldırım Beyazıt University (YBU) in 2014, successfully completing his doctorate in just two years. He also wrote and published his book, which he proudly shares.

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THE PROSECUTOR REQUESTED AN ADVERSE STATEMENT

The stock market allegations in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) case continue to be debated. Attorney MY, who was implicated in CHP leader Özgür Özel's stock market allegations, was released on house arrest by a judge the other day. It was also reported that M.Y. had contacted some families involved in the IMM investigation, and one of these meetings was recorded. According to DW Turkish, CHP sources stated: “One family recorded a 40-minute meeting with a lawyer and plans to file a complaint with the prosecutor's office. The case also contains WhatsApp correspondence with the prosecutor named in the case. The prosecutor requested a statement against IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and the lawyer requested a payment of $4.5 million in addition to this statement. It is alleged that other families were similarly targeted. Yıldırım is the lawyer of some of the informants, and these individuals were later released.”