Turkey revokes 6,134 foreign citizenships after fake property scheme uncovered

Turkish authorities uncovered a criminal network that used falsified property appraisals to obtain Turkish citizenship for foreign nationals. WhatsApp messages between alleged ringleader İbrahim Halil Babacan and associate Uğur Gültekin detailed how property values were inflated and bank transactions fabricated to meet the legal requirements for citizenship. The scheme granted citizenship to 687 individuals while evading the required inflow of roughly 2.5 billion Turkish lira.

A coordinated operation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Istanbul Police Migration Directorate and the Border Gates Branch resulted in the arrest of 72 suspects across 16 provinces. Seizures included more than 1,145 real‑estate units, a hotel in Bodrum, 15 vehicles, a yacht and ten bank accounts. The Interior Ministry cancelled the citizenships of 6,134 foreigners, and Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the fraud cost the state billions of lira and compromised national security.