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Yargıtay rules against sellers in used car mileage fraud cases
The Turkish Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) has issued a landmark ruling regarding fraud in the second-hand vehicle market. The 11th Criminal Chamber overturned a previous decision that had dismissed a fraud investigation on the grounds that the buyer could have checked the vehicle's mileage history themselves.
The case involved a consumer who purchased a car advertised with 65,000 kilometers, only to discover the actual mileage was 251,000. While prosecutors initially declined to prosecute, citing the buyer's responsibility to verify records, the Court of Cassation ruled that such a defense does not justify fraudulent behavior. The court emphasized that investigations must include technical expert reports, inspection records, and market value assessments to determine if the tampering was detectable through simple checks.
In a separate but related crackdown on vehicle fraud, authorities in Ankara launched a multi-province operation targeting the ‘change’ system. This criminal method involves using chemical liquids to alter engine and chassis numbers, effectively transferring the identities of heavily damaged or scrapped vehicles to other cars to deceive buyers.
Entities
11th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court · Adalet Bakanlığı · Ankara Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı · Ministry of Justice · Supreme Court of Turkey · Yargıtay 11. Ceza Dairesi · İstanbul İl Emniyet Müdürlüğü
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 3 SOURCES] A consumer purchased a car advertised at 65,000 km that was actually 251,000 km. www.gazetebirlik.com · www.dunya.com · www.f5haber.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] The court requires determining the actual market value of the vehicle at the time of the crime. www.gazetebirlik.com · www.dunya.com · www.f5haber.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] Investigations must include the testimony of the expert who examined the vehicle on the day of sale. www.gazetebirlik.com · www.dunya.com · www.f5haber.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] The court must assess whether the mileage tampering could be identified through a simple inspection. www.gazetebirlik.com · www.dunya.com · www.f5haber.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] Investigations must include retrieving inspection records from vehicle stations. www.gazetebirlik.com · www.dunya.com · www.f5haber.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] The 11th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court issued a precedent-setting decision regarding mileage fraud in used car sales. www.gazetebirlik.com · www.dunya.com · www.f5haber.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] The Ministry of Justice requested the reversal of the non-prosecution decision for the sake of public interest. www.gazetebirlik.com · www.dunya.com · www.f5haber.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] The court ruled that the argument 'the buyer could have queried the records' is not sufficient to dismiss fraud charges. www.gazetebirlik.com · www.dunya.com · www.f5haber.com