Letting Someone Use Your Bank Account: IBAN and Criminal Liability in Türkiye

Receiving proceeds in an account bearing your name does not by itself establish that you committed fraud. Criminal responsibility depends on the proven mental element and conduct, including whether you knowingly contributed to the criminal use of the account. Article 21 defines intent; Articles 37 and 39 distinguish forms of participation.

In Yargıtay 11th Criminal Chamber, E.2021/19521, K.2025/3933, 7 April 2025, a deposit for a false telephone listing entered the defendant's account. The Court considered the established consent to account use for TRY 30 by a person whose identity was not provided, and set aside the acquittal. This was not a rule that every incoming transfer proves guilt.

In Yargıtay 11th Criminal Chamber, E.2021/27031, K.2023/9670, 7 December 2023, the Court set aside one account holder's conviction because the file did not establish knowing provision and withdrawal for fraud beyond reasonable doubt. The supporting witness and police records mattered. Another defendant's conviction was upheld in the same decision.

Neither “it was my account, so I am certainly guilty” nor “I only lent it, so I cannot be liable” is a sound general conclusion. These decisions also predate the specific 2026 participation amendment discussed below.

Courts examine the whole file, not one explanation or one banking entry. Relevant circumstances may include:

• Payment or commission for allowing use.
• The relationship with the user and whether their identity is known.
• Withdrawals, onward transfers and repeated transactions.
• Whether the movements fit the account's ordinary use.
• Communications, bank records, witnesses and actual control over access.

“I did not know” and “I was helping a friend” do not automatically establish either acquittal or guilt. Nor does a fee replace the need to establish the offence's elements. The distinction between co-perpetration, assistance and no criminal participation depends on the actual contribution and intent.

Article 158(4), added by Article 13 of Law 7589, provides a one-half reduction where participation in an Article 157 or 158 offence, for the purpose of obtaining an unlawful benefit for oneself or another, is limited to giving another person the necessary information or instruments enabling use of the specified payment tools or accounts.

The amendment was adopted on 16 July 2026 and published on 31 July 2026; Article 13 took effect on publication under Article 26. This is a conditional sentencing rule, not acquittal, amnesty or permission to rent an account. Additional conduct may affect whether participation was limited as required.

Earlier acts and pending files require assessment of the more favourable law and the special transitional provisions. Temporary Article 1(6) addresses specified appellate files. Paragraph (7) provides a separate, conditional mechanism for specified enforcement-stage convictions, including full compensation within six months of the court's warning. It does not permit assuming that execution is stayed before full payment.

A suspect must be informed of the allegation and has rights to counsel, to remain silent about it and to request collection of specific favourable evidence under Criminal Procedure Code Article 147. Identity questions must be answered truthfully. A witness or complainant has a different procedural position.

• Preserve complete account statements and transaction records.
• Keep communications and call records with the person using the account.
• Retain any job, loan, intermediary or account-rental advertisement and messages.
• Keep card-loss reports, security notifications and bank correspondence.

Do not delete or alter relevant records or fabricate evidence. Exercising the right to silence is different from destroying evidence or interfering with witnesses. Review the chronology and available documents with counsel; this article is not a script for a factual statement.

1. Notify the bank through an official channel. Report suspected unauthorised access and transactions, secure affected cards and banking access, and keep the reference and written confirmation.
2. Report the facts to the competent authorities. Provide the chronology and genuine supporting records.
3. Distinguish account suspension from seizure. Under Article 128/A, the relevant bank or specified financial provider may suspend an account for up to forty-eight hours where reasonable suspicion exists concerning the listed offences, including the specified forms of aggravated fraud.

The institution must notify the prosecutor and the account holder. The account holder may apply to the prosecutor to lift the suspension; Article 128/A(2) requires a decision within twenty-four hours on that application. A favourable outcome is not guaranteed. A separate seizure decision has its own conditions and judicial-control periods; the suspension challenge is not automatically the remedy for every later seizure or banking restriction.

For the victim's evidence and reporting steps, see online fraud: evidence and reporting.

Under the ordinary Article 168 framework, personal remorse and full return or compensation after completion of the relevant offence but before prosecution may reduce the sentence by up to two thirds. After prosecution begins but before judgment, the reduction may be up to one half. Partial compensation additionally requires the victim's consent under paragraph (4).

These conditions and timing matter; a payment does not itself establish acquittal or close every fraud file. Basic and aggravated fraud also differ in reconciliation eligibility.

The specific 2026 enforcement-stage exception in Temporary Article 1(7) of Law 7589 must be checked separately for an eligible convicted person. It is not a general right for every person convicted of fraud to obtain a post-judgment reduction by paying. Preserve proof of genuine compensation and review any notice and the statutory conditions.

• Complete bank statements and transaction references.
• Messages showing to whom access was given and the stated reason.
• Bank reports and criminal-report documentation.
• Any suspension or later seizure notice.
• Records of relevant changes to identity or contact information and access security.

• Criminal Code No.5237: Articles 21, 37, 39, 157, 158, 168, 245 and 282.
• Criminal Procedure Code No.5271: Articles 128/A and 147.
• Official parliamentary record of Law 7589: Articles 13 and 26, Temporary Article 1(6)–(7).
• Court of Cassation official decision search: 11th Criminal Chamber, E.2021/19521, K.2025/3933, 07.04.2025; E.2021/27031, K.2023/9670, 07.12.2023.