A type of fraud that has spread especially among young people in recent years; These are "account rental" or "IBAN usage" offers. People are asked to open their bank accounts to others, with attractive offers such as "500-1000 TL per day" on social media, or through announcements disguised as job postings. This situation may lead the person who shares his/her account to serious legal risks.
Reminder: This article is for informational purposes only. The legal articles and penalty ranges given are within the framework of general legislation; The conditions of each file are different and the decision to be made is at the discretion of the judge.
How is Account Rental Done?
The typical flow is as follows:
Types of Crimes That May Be Encountered
The act of providing account use; It can be evaluated in terms of one or more of the following crime types, depending on the characteristics of the concrete incident.
1) Qualified Fraud Participant (TCK Article 158)
Committing the act of fraud by using the internet, banks or credit institutions as a tool is regulated as a qualified case. The penalty range stipulated in the legislation is imprisonment from 3 to 10 years and a judicial fine of up to 5,000 days.
According to the provisions of Participation (TCK Article 37 et seq.), persons who knowingly contribute to the commission of the act may be held responsible for the same crime. Person who made his/her account available:
- If he knows that the crime has been committed, he can be considered as a "joint perpetrator",
- He may be in the position of "assistor" (Art. 39) if he has provided a means to assist in the commission of the crime.
- If he has no knowledge and has fulfilled his duty of care, he can put forward his "good faith" arguments.
Which direction the file will proceed depends on the evidence and the court's discretion.
2) Laundering Proceeds of Crime (TCK Article 282)
A penalty is foreseen for the person who takes the assets resulting from crime abroad or subjects them to various processes in order to hide their illegitimate source or to create the belief that they were obtained through a legitimate means; The penalty range stipulated in the legislation is imprisonment from 3 to 7 years and a judicial fine of up to 20,000 days.
The concept of "property resulting from crime"; It covers the income obtained from predicate crimes such as illegal betting, fraud and drug sales. If your account is used to transfer money of this nature, money laundering allegations may arise.
3) Administrative Liability Under Law No. 5549
Law No. 5549 on the Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime provides for the obligation to report suspicious transactions to MASAK and administrative fines. Within the framework of this law:
- Banks are obliged to notify MASAK when they detect suspicious transactions.
- Your account may have been reported and an investigation may have started without your knowledge.
- Administrative fines are foreseen in various articles of the law.
4) Hacking into Information Systems or Misuse of Bank Card
When account access information is shared with someone else, the account holder is in the position of "helper" in terms of subsequent cybercrimes (TCK art. There may be files in which it is seen.
The "I Didn't Know" Defense and Its Limits
The following criteria are taken into account when the court evaluates the defense of "I did not know that my account would be used":
- Whether the ad contains unusual promises such as "5,000 TL a week for a housewife"
- Whether communication is carried out predominantly through instant and deletable channels such as Telegram/WhatsApp
- Private information such as card, password, OTP has been given to a third party
- The amount of money entering the account and its suitability to the income profile of the account holder
- Why the account owner did not intervene during the transactions
- Age, education and economic status of the account holder
In its established jurisprudence, the General Criminal Assembly of the Supreme Court of Appeals considers ignoring suspicious situations that "an average person can sense" as the limit of good faith. The result may be different for each file.
To Avoid Being a Victim
What Should You Do If You Are Suspicious?
If an investigation has already been initiated against you or a MASAK block has been imposed:
- Prefer not to testify without a lawyer. The first statement is very important for the course of the file.
- Keep all correspondence (messages, emails, social media conversations) regarding your account with a time stamp; Do not delete.
- If you think you have been defrauded, try to document your status as a victim by filing a separate criminal complaint.
- Take your time with the evacuation/defense strategy; Work with an expert criminal lawyer.
Conclusion
Account availability; It is an area that can lead to serious legal consequences, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Criminal process, administrative MASAK process and private law requests can proceed simultaneously. Although the penalty ranges stipulated in the legislation are high, the decision to be made in the concrete case; It varies depending on the evidence, the element of intent, the level of knowledge and the court's discretion. Therefore, each file should be managed with its own strategy; Definitive results cannot be promised.