Turkey has detained 72 suspects accused of helping foreign nationals fraudulently acquire Turkish citizenship through sham real estate transactions and has begun work to revoke the citizenship of 687 people, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced on X on Tuesday.
Gürlek said detention warrants had been issued for 90 suspects as part of an İstanbul-based operation conducted across 16 provinces, with efforts continuing to apprehend the remaining 18.
The suspects allegedly used fraudulent appraisal reports to present low-priced properties as significantly more valuable and arranged sham sales to make foreign buyers appear to meet the minimum investment required for Turkish citizenship.
Turkey’s citizenship-by-investment program allows foreign nationals to apply for citizenship after purchasing real estate worth at least $400,000 and agreeing not to sell it for three years. Applicants must submit an officially recognized appraisal confirming that the property meets the required value, making valuation reports a central part of the application process.
Turkey reduced the minimum property investment required for citizenship from $1 million to $250,000 in 2018 in an effort to attract foreign capital. The threshold was increased to $400,000 in 2022.
According to Gürlek, the alleged scheme prevented approximately TL 2.5 billion ($52.6 million) that should have entered Turkey from being transferred to the country. Instead, the suspects allegedly created fictitious financial transactions and received illicit payments from foreign nationals seeking Turkish citizenship.
Investigators determined that 687 people had acquired Turkish citizenship through the method, Gürlek said, adding that work had begun to revoke their citizenship.
The authorities seized seven companies and appointed trustees to manage them. They also seized 1,045 properties, a hotel in the southwestern resort town of Bodrum, 15 motor vehicles, a yacht and 10 bank accounts.
The investigation was coordinated by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and carried out by the anti-migrant smuggling and border gate division of the İstanbul Police Department.
Turkey’s citizenship-by-investment program has long been controversial, with opposition parties arguing that it commercializes citizenship and poses risks to national security and the country’s social fabric. The government has defended the program, saying applicants undergo security screening and that oversight has been strengthened in recent years.
The controversy intensified in 2023 as Turkish authorities launched a series of operations targeting international organized crime groups, some of whose members were reported to have acquired Turkish citizenship through investment. The Interior Ministry has denied irregularities in the application process, while opposition figures have continued to argue that the program has made Turkey attractive to foreign criminals seeking citizenship through financial investment.
