A court in Batman has ordered 21 people held in pre-trial detention in an investigation into an alleged ring that staged traffic accidents to collect payouts from insurance companies, the İhlas News Agency (İHA), Takvim and Yeni Akit reported on Sunday.
The suspects were among 43 people detained in a Batman-centred operation carried out in 11 provinces on 27 October, according to the reports. After their processing by police was completed, 21 were arrested, among them people described as the group’s leader and managers, while the remaining 22 were released under judicial control.
41 accidents under review
The investigation is coordinated by the Batman Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and conducted by the provincial police department’s anti-smuggling and organised crime (KOM) branch. Investigators examined 41 traffic accidents that took place in Batman between 2022 and 2024, suspecting that some of them never really happened and were staged to obtain compensation from insurers, the reports said.
According to the reports, the accidents drew attention because they occurred in places without camera coverage, and because money transfers linked to insurance payments were found between people involved in them. Investigators believe that some body shop owners, insurance appraisers and people who allowed vehicles to be used in the accidents acted together in an organised way.
Financial and phone records examined
The case file draws on data from MASAK, Türkiye’s financial crimes investigation board, on bank account movements, on phone traffic (HTS) records and on accident reports obtained from the Insurance Information and Monitoring Centre (SBM).
Legal proceedings were opened against a total of 65 people in connection with the accidents, the reports said. One suspect for whom a detention order had been issued was found to be abroad, and the investigation is continuing.
The reports did not say how much compensation was allegedly obtained in total or which insurance companies were affected.
Sources
- Batman merkezli sigorta dolandırıcılığı iddiasında 43 gözaltından 21’i tutuklandı (Haberler.com / İHA)
- Batman’da sigorta dolandırıcılığı operasyonu! 21 tutuklama (Takvim)
- Sigorta şirketlerini böyle soymuşlar: 43 gözaltı, 21 tutuklama (Yeni Akit)
- Araçları çarpışmış gibi gösterdiler! Batman’da ‘sigorta vurgunu’ operasyonu (Cumhuriyet / İHA)
Photo: Zalasem1 / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
