Thousands of Turkish IBAN victims protest in Ankara over criminal investigations

Around thousands of Turkish citizens who say they have been harmed by fraud involving bank account numbers (IBAN) gathered in central Ankara, near the Ulus Atatürk Monument, to voice their concerns.

The demonstration targets investigations launched under Article 158 of the Turkish Penal Code, which treats alleged misuse of IBANs as a criminal offence. Participants claim they are being treated as suspects, with separate criminal cases opened for each transaction linked to their accounts.

Organiser Ilyas Ataş stated that scammers never use their own IBANs and that the real perpetrators hide behind digital shadows, while ordinary account holders bear the legal burden. He quoted the protesters: "Binlerce vatandaşımız ceza dosyalarının sanığı haline getirilmiştir" ("Thousands of our citizens have become defendants in criminal files"). The group demanded assistance from authorities to resolve the legal and social problems they face.