Dear Student,

Recently, there has been a significant rise in incidents such as fraud, illegal betting and the laundering of proceeds from drug trafficking, involving the use of university students’ bank accounts and digital wallets by third parties.  Knowingly and willingly permitting others to use your bank accounts or digital wallets registered in your name under pretexts such as ‘earning commission’, ‘help with debt repayment’, ‘one-off use’, ‘harmless money transfer’ or similar may result in criminal and civil liability under the Turkish Penal Code and relevant legislation. As the account holder, you may be held liable for transactions carried out via your accounts, regardless of who actually performed the transaction.

If you allow others to use your accounts, you may face criminal investigations and prosecutions, have a criminal record created, be classified as a high-risk customer by banks, have restrictions imposed on your bank accounts, have your loan and credit card applications rejected, have judicial control measures (including a ban on travelling abroad) imposed, and face compensation claims brought by victims. In such circumstances, explanations such as ‘I didn’t know’, ‘I just wanted to help’ or ‘I’m only an intermediary’ may not provide legal protection.

It is essential that you reject any offers, whether from people you know or do not know, that promise financial gain in exchange for sharing your account details or IBAN, and that you report any suspicious situations to the security authorities immediately.