The curtain has fallen on one of the strangest organized fraud stories in the world, following the surrender of Turkish man Muhammad Aydin, nicknamed "Tosunjuk," to the Turkish consulate in São Paulo, Brazil. Aydin expressed his willingness to appear before Turkish court. "Tosunjuk" had been wanted by Interpol for a long time, accused of embezzling approximately 100 million US dollars, collected from nearly 80,000 Turkish citizens who were investors in the virtual "Ciftlik Bank" he established, through which he sold agricultural and animal products virtually.
#### The Fraud Began at Age 27
The story dates back to 2016 when "Tosunjuk" founded a virtual bank called "Ciftlik Bank" at the age of just 27, hailing from Bursa, Turkey, near Istanbul. Prior to that, he worked in Istanbul as a performer of popular rap music but established the bank based on ideas from social media games. The mentioned bank allowed its investors to virtually buy eggs, meat, sheep, cows, and goats, enabling each investor to have something akin to a virtual barn to collect and resell what they owned. However, the bank promised imaginary profits from these financial contributions, reaching over 25 percent annually.
#### Explosive Success then Collapse
Ciftlik Bank gained huge popularity six months after its establishment, with nearly half a million investors participating in its shares. The bank provided "real" incentives during this initial period, even generating profits estimated at about 120 percent from trading activities. However, during the same period, the bank imposed time restrictions on the possibility of reselling, defining it as the lifespan of the purchased item, meaning a sheep could not be sold until a year after purchase, goats after two years, and meat after six months.
About a year after the peak popularity of the virtual bank, it weakened in its ability to pay investors wishing to divest their virtual possessions, forcing more shareholders to rush into selling. During this time, "Tosunjuk" was transferring more funds to external accounts linked to him. Suddenly, "Tosunjuk" disappeared from view, taking with him 1.3 billion Turkish lira of depositors' money (about 200 million US dollars), funds that belonged to nearly 80,000 depositors. Turkish prosecutors managed to recover about half the amount by arresting 18 bank executives and seizing their funds.
#### Years of Speculation
Throughout the years that "Tosunjuk" was missing, many circulated various stories about his whereabouts in Turkey, including the United States, Uruguay, Brazil, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. What angered investors who lost their money was that media platforms published images of him living a lavish lifestyle on beaches and in luxury villas.
In media statements responding to the accusations against his client, defense attorney Şihemus Oltuş rejected the charges, asserting that he did not intend to defraud or harm the depositors, but that his economic institution failed due to the country's general circumstances. However, many dismissed this notion, arguing that "Tosunjuk" only surrendered to official authorities once he became sure that Interpol was close to capturing him.
#### Systematic Fraud in Turkey
Turkey witnesses systematic fraud operations similar to this one periodically, with stories of fraud occupying a significant portion of Turkish daily press coverage. However, what is unusual in "Tosunjuk’s" story is his youth and the youth of his collaborators, none of whom had exceeded thirty years of age. Additionally, the profile of the victims was the widest in the history of fraud operations in the country.
#### Notable Fraud Case in Turkey
One of the most famous fraud cases in Turkish history was that of "Selçuk Barsadan," who contacted then-Prime Minister Tansu Çiller in November 1995, impersonating retired General Necdet Öztorun and requesting the transfer of 5.5 billion Turkish lira to the "Kemalist Association," which supported the Prime Minister's "True Path" party. The funds were indeed transferred, and Barsadan vanished for years, with the incident impacting the political history of the Prime Minister and leading to the end of her political journey.
#### Why Do These Operations Persist?
Turkish researcher Solange Emre explained to "Sky News Arabia" the reasons behind the continued occurrence of fraud operations in Turkey. She stated, "There is a mix of factors driving this. The legal structure is not deterrent for those aspiring to enter such businesses. The most famous fraud case involving a Prime Minister resulted in the perpetrator being sentenced to only six years in prison after being arrested." She continued: "Moreover, poverty, absence of real investments, and the inability to build associations and institutions protected by norms and law, along with the power of authorities, drive enormous numbers of people to believe in any project presented to them." She added: "Finally, the nature of the ruling authority intermingled with organized crime groups and businessmen loyal to the power leads to such possibilities."
