What should a foreign company do if a Turkish customs inspection leads to a criminal investigation? Learn about Law No. 5607, searches, seizures, company directors, customs brokers, evidence, smuggling allegations and criminal defense in Turkey.

A criminal investigation after a customs inspection in Turkey can transform what initially appears to be an ordinary customs compliance problem into a serious legal risk for the company, its directors, employees and customs representatives. An inspection may begin with questions about an invoice, GTIP classification, customs value, origin certificate or import authorization and subsequently result in documents being seized, goods being detained and the matter being referred to a Turkish public prosecutor.

Foreign companies should understand that a customs irregularity does not automatically constitute a criminal offence. Many customs disputes remain administrative matters involving additional customs duties and administrative fines. Criminal exposure generally requires a separate assessment of the conduct under the applicable criminal legislation, particularly Anti-Smuggling Law No. 5607.

Nevertheless, enforcement activity is significant in 2026. The Ministry of Trade reported that Customs Enforcement units conducted 2,264 operations during January–April 2026, involving approximately TRY 34.2 billion worth of goods and narcotics, a reported 106% increase compared with the corresponding previous period.

Companies facing a referral to prosecutors should therefore respond quickly but carefully. The first objective should be to determine exactly what customs authorities believe happened, which individuals are under suspicion, what evidence has been collected and whether the underlying customs issue genuinely satisfies the elements of a criminal offence.

When Can a Customs Inspection Become a Criminal Investigation?

A Turkish customs inspection can identify different types of irregularities. Some result primarily in additional customs duties or administrative penalties, while others may lead authorities to suspect criminal conduct.

A criminal investigation may become possible where customs officials believe that the transaction involves deliberate customs evasion, concealed goods, fraudulent documentation, false invoices, prohibited imports or exports, manipulation of customs procedures or other conduct potentially falling within Law No. 5607.

The investigation may arise directly at a customs gate, port or airport.

It can also arise later.

Turkey actively conducts post-clearance audits and secondary reviews of customs declarations. The Ministry of Trade announced in July 2026 that these controls generated TRY 28.7 billion in additional assessments and penalties over the preceding two-and-a-half-year period.

Accordingly, goods may have entered Turkey months earlier before a historical transaction attracts regulatory or criminal scrutiny.

Does Every Customs Violation Constitute Smuggling?

No.

This distinction is fundamental to defending companies in customs-related criminal investigations.

An incorrect customs declaration does not necessarily mean that somebody committed smuggling.

A company may have used an incorrect GTIP because the technical classification of the product was genuinely disputed. An origin certificate may later prove defective. A royalty payment may have been excluded from customs value because the company misunderstood whether it satisfied the statutory conditions for inclusion.

These situations can potentially create customs debts and administrative penalties without automatically proving a criminal offence.

The defense should therefore resist any attempt to treat the existence of an incorrect declaration as sufficient proof of criminal responsibility.

What Is Anti-Smuggling Law No. 5607?

Law No. 5607 on Combating Smuggling is one of the principal statutes governing customs-related smuggling offences in Turkey.

Depending on the alleged conduct, an investigation may concern goods entering or leaving Turkey contrary to customs procedures, fraudulent import or export practices, prohibited or restricted goods, or other conduct specifically regulated by the statute.

The precise paragraph allegedly violated matters.

A company should therefore obtain the investigation documents available to it and identify the specific offence being investigated rather than responding to a vague accusation of “customs fraud” or “smuggling.”

The factual and mental elements of the alleged offence must then be examined individually.

Who Conducts Customs Smuggling Investigations?

Investigations may involve the Customs Enforcement, Smuggling and Intelligence units of the Ministry of Trade, police or other law-enforcement authorities together with the competent public prosecutor.

Once suspected criminal conduct is identified, the public prosecutor plays a central role in the criminal investigation.

Recent Ministry announcements illustrate this process. For example, after Customs Enforcement identified suspected illegal importation during a June 2026 operation at Kapıkule, the Ministry reported that judicial proceedings were initiated and the investigation continued before the Edirne Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Similarly, a March 2026 customs operation concerning cultural assets at Çeşme Port resulted in an investigation before the Çeşme Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

What Should a Company Do Immediately After Learning About the Investigation?

The company should first establish the exact procedural status of the matter.

Management needs to know whether customs authorities are merely conducting an administrative examination or whether a criminal investigation file has already been opened by a prosecutor.

The company should then identify the individuals potentially involved.

This can include the general manager, board members, import/export managers, finance employees, customs compliance personnel and customs broker.

All relevant documentation should immediately be preserved.

Deleting e-mails, altering records or attempting to “correct” historical documents after learning of an investigation can create serious additional problems.

Should the Company Conduct an Internal Investigation?

In significant cases, an internal factual investigation can be extremely valuable.

The purpose should be to establish what actually happened before company representatives provide statements based on incomplete information.

Counsel may need to determine who selected the GTIP, who prepared the commercial invoice, who provided origin information, who communicated with the customs broker, who approved the transaction and whether similar practices were used for previous imports.

Relevant employees should be identified and documents preserved.

The investigation should also determine whether the alleged irregularity resulted from an individual mistake, a customs broker’s advice, foreign supplier information or a systematic company practice.

What Documents Should Be Preserved?

The company should preserve the entire customs and commercial file rather than only the documents customs authorities have requested.

Important evidence may include customs declarations, invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, purchase agreements, distribution contracts, payment records, Certificates of Origin, A.TR certificates, EUR.1 certificates, supplier declarations, technical specifications and GTIP analyses.

Correspondence with the customs broker can be particularly important.

Internal e-mails, approval records and accounting documents may demonstrate why a particular customs treatment was adopted.

Foreign headquarters should also preserve relevant overseas records immediately.

Can Company E-mails and Digital Records Be Examined?

Potentially.

Digital evidence is increasingly important in Turkish customs enforcement.

In April 2026, a new Customs Enforcement Criminal Laboratory unit opened additional examination departments covering fingerprints, handwriting and signatures, document examination, image examination and data examination. The Ministry stated that these capabilities would provide technical support to law-enforcement units, public prosecutors and courts in smuggling investigations.

Companies should therefore assume that electronic correspondence and digital documentation may become important evidence.

The defense should preserve potentially exculpatory digital evidence just as carefully as physical customs documents.

Can Customs Authorities Seize Company Documents?

Potentially, where the applicable criminal-procedure conditions are satisfied.

A criminal investigation may involve searches and seizure of documents, digital devices or other evidence.

Companies should document exactly what authorities take.

Where computers, phones, servers or storage devices are involved, the scope of the search and seizure should be reviewed carefully under the applicable Criminal Procedure Code rules.

The company should also maintain business-continuity measures so that an investigation does not unnecessarily paralyze ordinary operations.

Can Imported Goods Be Seized?

Yes, potentially.

Goods suspected of being connected with a smuggling offence may become subject to seizure.

However, seizure should not be confused with permanent confiscation.

A seizure is generally a procedural measure, whereas confiscation (müsadere) concerns permanent deprivation of property under the applicable legal requirements.

The company should investigate whether continued seizure is legally justified and whether an application for return or another remedy is available.

The commercial condition and value of seized goods should also be documented.

Can Company Directors Be Investigated Personally?

Potentially, but being a director does not automatically establish criminal responsibility.

Turkish criminal responsibility requires an individualized examination of the person’s alleged conduct.

Investigators may therefore examine who authorized the import, who knew about the disputed customs treatment and who participated in allegedly misleading conduct.

A foreign board member who had no involvement in customs operations should not simply be treated identically to an employee who personally prepared false documentation.

Corporate hierarchy cannot substitute for evidence concerning individual participation.

Can a Foreign Director Be Questioned in Turkey?

Potentially.

If prosecutors believe a foreign director has information about the transaction or may bear individual responsibility, that person’s procedural status should be determined before any statement is given.

The distinction between a witness and suspect is extremely important.

A foreign executive should understand whether they are being invited to provide information as a witness or being questioned as a suspect concerning an alleged offence.

Companies should not send foreign executives to interviews without first reviewing the investigation and obtaining Turkish criminal-law advice.

Can Employees Be Personally Investigated?

Yes.

Employees involved in customs transactions may potentially become witnesses or suspects depending on the evidence.

An import manager may have supplied product information. A finance employee may have prepared invoices. A logistics employee may have communicated with the customs broker.

However, performing an administrative role does not automatically establish criminal liability.

The investigation must distinguish between an employee who unknowingly processed routine documentation and someone alleged to have deliberately participated in unlawful conduct.

Can the Customs Broker Become a Suspect?

Potentially.

Customs brokers can become important participants in these investigations because they frequently prepare or submit customs declarations.

The critical question is who supplied the allegedly incorrect information and who knew what.

Suppose the importer supplied complete and accurate technical information, but the broker independently selected an incorrect GTIP.

That factual situation is very different from one in which the importer deliberately supplied a false product description and instructed the broker to use it.

Correspondence between the company and customs broker should therefore be preserved immediately.

What If the Investigation Concerns an Incorrect GTIP?

GTIP disputes require particular caution.

Classification of technically complex machinery, components, chemicals, electronics and industrial products can involve genuine legal and technical disagreements.

The company should obtain technical documentation explaining the nature, composition and function of the goods.

Historical customs decisions and previous classification analyses may also become relevant.

The defense should determine whether authorities are dealing with an ordinary tariff-classification disagreement or alleging that the company intentionally selected an incorrect classification to evade customs duties.

Those are fundamentally different allegations.

What If the Investigation Concerns Customs Value?

Customs valuation investigations can involve invoices, royalties, licence fees, assists, related-party transactions and other payments.

Multinational companies can face particular difficulties because their corporate structure may involve separate manufacturers, intellectual-property owners, distributors and Turkish subsidiaries.

A payment omitted from customs value does not automatically prove intentional customs evasion.

The company should determine why the payment was excluded and whether its customs treatment was based on professional advice, established practice or a reasonable interpretation of the valuation rules.

Transfer-pricing documentation may provide useful background, although customs valuation and corporate transfer pricing should not automatically be treated as identical legal concepts.

What If the Investigation Concerns A.TR or EUR.1 Documents?

Origin-related investigations require reconstruction of the entire supply chain.

An A.TR certificate generally concerns free circulation within the EU–Türkiye Customs Union and should not automatically be treated as proof of EU preferential origin.

EUR.1 documentation concerns preferential origin under the applicable trade arrangement.

If authorities allege that an origin document was false or incorrectly used, the company should determine who issued it, who supplied it to the Turkish importer and what the importer knew about its accuracy.

Supplier declarations and manufacturing documentation from abroad may become critical evidence.

What If a Foreign Supplier Provided the False Document?

This can significantly affect the defense, but it does not automatically resolve the case.

The Turkish importer should establish what information it received and whether there was any reason to doubt the document.

E-mails, contracts, certificates, supplier warranties and previous transactions can become important.

The foreign supplier may also need to provide records from its own country demonstrating how the disputed document was generated.

A company should not attempt to distance itself from its supplier without first establishing the factual record.

Can an Administrative Customs Case and Criminal Investigation Continue at the Same Time?

Potentially.

A company may simultaneously face an additional customs-duty assessment, administrative customs penalties and a criminal investigation concerning the same underlying import transaction.

These proceedings should be coordinated carefully.

Arguments made in an administrative customs objection can affect the criminal case, while statements made during the criminal investigation may affect the customs dispute.

For this reason, customs counsel and criminal defense counsel should work from a consistent factual record.

Does Paying the Customs Debt End the Criminal Investigation?

Not automatically.

Payment of additional customs duties should not be assumed to terminate a criminal investigation.

The consequences of payment depend on the alleged offence, applicable statutory provisions and procedural stage.

A company should therefore obtain advice before making a payment specifically in the hope that doing so will automatically eliminate criminal exposure.

Payment can have different consequences in administrative and criminal proceedings.

Can Voluntary Disclosure or Effective Remorse Affect the Case?

Law No. 5607 contains specific mechanisms whose applicability can depend on the alleged offence, timing and circumstances.

Companies should therefore investigate whether any statutory provision concerning voluntary disclosure, cooperation, payment or effective remorse (etkin pişmanlık) applies before taking irreversible procedural steps.

This requires case-specific analysis.

The company should not submit an admission or make a payment based solely on informal advice that doing so will “close the case.”

Can the Company’s Bank Accounts Be Frozen?

Potentially, but not automatically merely because a customs investigation exists.

Financial measures require an appropriate legal basis.

Where authorities seek asset-related protective measures, the company should identify the precise judicial or prosecutorial decision and statutory basis.

Any measure affecting corporate bank accounts can have severe consequences for salaries, suppliers and ordinary business operations.

Such measures should therefore be reviewed urgently.

What Happens at the End of the Investigation?

The prosecutor evaluates the collected evidence and determines whether there is sufficient basis to bring criminal charges.

Where the legal requirements for prosecution are not established, the investigation may conclude without a criminal trial.

Where prosecutors believe sufficient suspicion exists, an indictment may be prepared and submitted to the competent criminal court.

The company and individuals involved should therefore use the investigation stage actively rather than waiting for an indictment.

Exculpatory documents, technical opinions and evidence demonstrating the legitimate commercial explanation for the transaction can potentially be presented during the investigation.

Why Is Early Defense Important?

Customs-related criminal cases often become much harder to defend if the company waits several months before reconstructing the transaction.

Employees may leave. E-mails may become difficult to locate. Foreign suppliers may change personnel. Technical product information may disappear.

Early defense also matters because seized goods, documents and commercial operations may require immediate procedural applications.

A well-organized response should therefore begin as soon as the company learns that the customs inspection has moved beyond ordinary administrative review.

Why Is This Risk Particularly Important in 2026?

Turkish customs enforcement is increasingly supported by technology and sophisticated risk analysis.

The Ministry of Trade reported that Customs Enforcement units conducted 2,264 operations during the first four months of 2026 and identified approximately TRY 34.2 billion worth of goods and narcotics.

The Ministry has also expanded technical forensic capacity. The Customs Enforcement Criminal Laboratory’s new 2026 units include document, image and data examination capabilities designed to support prosecutors and courts.

Separately, post-clearance and secondary customs controls continue to generate substantial assessments. In July 2026, the Ministry reported TRY 8.3 billion in additional assessments and penalty decisions during the first half of 2026 alone.

For companies conducting substantial cross-border trade with Turkey, customs compliance should therefore be treated as both a financial and potential criminal-law risk-management issue.

What Should Companies Do Before a Customs Investigation Happens?

Companies should establish a customs compliance system capable of explaining how significant customs decisions are made.

Important GTIP classifications should be documented. Customs valuation methodologies should be reviewed. Origin documentation should be verified. Relationships involving royalties and related-party transactions should be examined.

Companies should also define responsibility among procurement, finance, logistics, legal and customs departments.

Customs brokers should receive accurate information in writing.

A company that can reconstruct why it adopted a particular customs treatment is generally in a much stronger position than one whose only explanation is that “the broker has always done it this way.”

Frequently Asked Questions About Criminal Investigations After Customs Inspections in Turkey

1. Does every incorrect customs declaration result in a criminal investigation?

No. Customs irregularities can result in additional duties or administrative penalties without necessarily constituting a criminal offence. Criminal liability requires separate examination under the applicable legislation.

2. What law governs customs smuggling offences in Turkey?

One of the principal statutes is Anti-Smuggling Law No. 5607. Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271 governs important procedural aspects of investigations and prosecutions.

3. Can Turkish customs refer a foreign company to the prosecutor?

Potentially, where officials identify conduct they believe may constitute a criminal offence. Recent Customs Enforcement cases confirm that suspected smuggling incidents are referred to competent public prosecutors.

4. Can company directors be personally investigated?

Yes, potentially. However, criminal responsibility should be individualized. Holding a corporate title alone does not establish that a director personally committed a customs offence.

5. Can the customs broker also become a suspect?

Potentially. The investigation may examine who prepared the declaration, who supplied information and whether any participant knowingly engaged in unlawful conduct.

6. Can company goods be seized during the investigation?

Potentially, yes. Goods believed to be connected with an alleged smuggling offence may be seized under the applicable procedural framework. Seizure should nevertheless be distinguished from permanent confiscation.

7. Can company computers and electronic records be examined?

Potentially. Digital evidence can form part of criminal investigations. Turkey’s Customs Enforcement forensic capacity was expanded in 2026 to include dedicated data, document and image examination functions.

8. Does paying additional customs duties automatically end the criminal case?

No. Companies should not assume that payment of a customs assessment automatically terminates criminal proceedings.

9. Can an incorrect GTIP constitute smuggling?

An incorrect GTIP may produce additional customs duties and penalties, but a genuine classification error should not automatically be equated with a criminal smuggling offence. The facts and elements of the alleged offence must be examined.

10. What should a foreign company do first after learning about a criminal customs investigation?

The company should determine the procedural status of the case, obtain Turkish legal counsel, preserve all evidence, identify potentially involved individuals and independently analyze the underlying customs allegation before employees or directors provide substantive statements.

Legal Support for Customs-Related Criminal Investigations in Turkey

A criminal investigation following a Turkish customs inspection requires coordinated customs and criminal-law analysis. The central question is not simply whether the declaration contained an error. The defense must determine why the error occurred, who was involved, what each individual knew and whether the conduct actually satisfies the statutory elements of a criminal offence.

This distinction is particularly important in disputes involving GTIP classification, customs valuation, A.TR and EUR.1 documentation, preferential origin, foreign supplier documents and customs broker mistakes. A technically incorrect customs position should not automatically be transformed into an allegation of intentional smuggling.

Companies should also act quickly to protect evidence. Customs enforcement authorities now use increasingly sophisticated risk-analysis and forensic capabilities, while post-clearance enforcement remains substantial in 2026.

Our law office provides professional legal assistance concerning customs criminal investigations, Anti-Smuggling Law No. 5607, customs inspections, company searches, seizure of goods and documents, customs fraud allegations, director and employee liability, GTIP investigations, customs valuation disputes and criminal proceedings in Turkey.

Fırat Fesih Kaya assists foreign companies, international manufacturers, importers, exporters, investors, company directors and multinational groups with responding to customs-related criminal investigations, coordinating internal evidence reviews and defending companies and individuals before Turkish prosecutors and criminal courts.

Phone: +90 312 434 22 22
Mobile: +90 532 769 22 22
Email: info@firatfesihkaya.av.tr
Address: Mevlana Boulevard No: 221, Yıldırım Tower No: 148, 06520 Balgat, Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey

For professional legal support concerning a criminal investigation following a customs inspection in Turkey, you may contact our law office for a case-specific assessment of the customs allegation, Law No. 5607 exposure, company and director liability, seized evidence and available criminal-defense strategy.