Concealing Company Assets in Turkey: Criminal Liability and Foreign Shareholder Guide 2026

Are company assets being hidden from a foreign shareholder in Turkey? Learn when concealed bank accounts, diverted receivables, hidden inventory, related-company transfers and asset sales may create criminal liability, how to preserve evidence and what foreign shareholders should do in 2026.

Foreign shareholders in Turkish companies sometimes discover that valuable company assets appear to have disappeared shortly before or during a shareholder dispute. Bank balances may suddenly fall, receivables may be redirected, vehicles or machinery may be transferred to related companies, inventory may disappear, or company money may move into personal accounts.

The expression “concealing company assets” is not itself a single criminal offence under Turkish law. Criminal liability depends on what was actually done with the asset, who owned it, how the suspected person obtained control over it, whether documents or deception were used, and whether the asset was diverted for an unauthorized benefit.

Depending on the facts, the investigation may involve breach of trust, fraud, theft, document-related offences or other criminal allegations. Corporate, accounting, tax and civil consequences may also arise.

For foreign shareholders, the most effective approach is usually:

Identify the asset → Establish company ownership → Determine who controlled it → Reconstruct the transfer → Trace the ultimate beneficiary → Preserve evidence → Determine the appropriate criminal characterization → Consider recovery and protective measures.

What Does Concealing Company Assets Mean?

In corporate disputes, asset concealment can take many forms.

Examples include:

• Moving company money to a director’s personal account
• Diverting customer payments
• Transferring money to another company controlled by a shareholder
• Selling company property without informing other shareholders
• Removing inventory from a warehouse
• Concealing cash collections
• Transferring company vehicles to related persons
• Creating fictitious debts
• Recording nonexistent expenses
• Using false contracts to justify payments
• Moving funds to foreign accounts
• Converting corporate money into crypto-assets
• Concealing company receivables
• Keeping transactions outside the company’s accounting records

The legal analysis should focus on the underlying conduct rather than the general description “asset concealment.”

Is Hiding Company Assets Automatically a Crime?

No.

A shareholder’s inability to see an asset does not automatically prove criminal conduct.

For example, company money may legitimately have been:

• Used to pay suppliers
• Repaid under a genuine loan
• Invested
• Used to purchase inventory
• Distributed through a lawful corporate process
• Paid as legitimate remuneration
• Transferred between genuine group-company accounts

The issue becomes more serious where evidence indicates that a person deliberately diverted company property for an unauthorized personal or third-party benefit.

Company Property Is Separate From Shareholder Property

Foreign investors should begin with this fundamental distinction.

Owning shares in a company does not ordinarily mean personally owning the company’s individual bank accounts, vehicles, machinery, receivables or inventory.

A 50% shareholder cannot necessarily say:

“I own half the company, therefore I can personally take half the money.”

Likewise, the other 50% shareholder cannot necessarily characterize every disputed payment as theft merely because they were not consulted.

Corporate ownership, management authority and entitlement to particular payments must be examined separately.

Breach of Trust Can Be Central to Asset Concealment Cases

Article 155 of the Turkish Criminal Code can become particularly relevant where a person was lawfully entrusted with another person’s property or given authority over it but allegedly used that property contrary to the entrusted purpose for their own or another person’s benefit.

This can be especially important in corporate investigations involving directors, managers or other individuals entrusted with control of company assets.

The Criminal Procedure Code’s asset-seizure framework also specifically lists breach of trust under Article 155 among the catalogue offences to which Article 128 may apply.

Example: Director Moves Company Money

Assume a Turkish company has two foreign shareholders.

One shareholder is also the managing director.

The company holds TRY 25 million.

The managing director transfers:

TRY 8 million → Personal account

and:

TRY 5 million → Another company controlled by the director.

The accounting records describe the transactions as “management services” and “loan repayment.”

The other shareholder should not stop at those descriptions.

The investigation should ask:

Was there really a loan?

Were management services actually provided?

Who authorized the payments?

Were the amounts commercially justified?

Where did the money go afterward?

Lawful Banking Authority Does Not Equal Personal Ownership

A managing director may legitimately possess unrestricted internet banking authority.

That authority might exist so the director can:

• Pay suppliers
• Pay employees
• Pay taxes
• Collect receivables
• Make investments
• Conduct ordinary business

It does not necessarily follow that the director may transfer company money for personal use.

The distinction between access to the asset and entitlement to the asset is crucial.

Concealing Money Through Personal Accounts

One common pattern is:

Company → Director → Personal account → Third party

The third party may be:

• Relative
• Business partner
• Another company
• Foreign bank account
• Crypto-asset account

The investigation should follow the complete financial chain.

Stopping at the first recipient may provide an incomplete picture.

Diverting Customer Payments

Company assets can also be concealed before money ever reaches the company’s bank account.

Example:

A director tells customers:

“Use this new account for future payments.”

The account actually belongs to the director personally.

The company’s accounting system continues showing the invoices as unpaid.

Important evidence may include:

• Customer statements
• Invoices
• Emails
• WhatsApp messages
• Payment instructions
• Bank transfers
• Accounting records

The financial trail should establish who ultimately received and controlled the money.

Hidden Company Bank Accounts

Foreign shareholders sometimes discover previously unknown company accounts.

The existence of another company account is not itself criminal.

The relevant questions include:

• Why was the account opened?
• Who controlled it?
• Was it reflected in company accounting?
• Which revenues entered it?
• Where did the money go?
• Were financial statements affected?
• Was the account deliberately concealed from authorized corporate bodies?

The transactions matter more than the mere existence of the account.

Cash Collections Kept Outside Company Records

Cash-heavy businesses create particular risks.

Suppose customers pay the company in cash but the collections never appear in:

• Cash ledger
• Accounting system
• Bank deposits
• Revenue records

The investigation should reconstruct:

Customer → Payment → Employee/director receiving cash → Corporate records → Ultimate use.

Witness statements, receipts, invoices, POS records and security footage may become important.

Inventory Can Also Be Concealed

Asset concealment is not limited to money.

It may involve:

• Raw materials
• Finished products
• Electronics
• Spare parts
• Construction materials
• Imported goods
• Valuable equipment

Compare:

Accounting inventory

with

physical inventory.

Then review:

• Warehouse entry records
• Warehouse exit records
• Delivery notes
• Transport records
• Sales invoices
• Camera footage
• Vehicle logs

Machinery Transferred to a Related Company

Suppose machinery belonging to Company A disappears.

The foreign shareholder later discovers that it is being used by Company B, which is controlled by the other shareholder.

Ask:

Was it sold?

Was it leased?

Was it transferred temporarily?

Was consideration paid?

Who approved the transaction?

How was it recorded?

Related ownership alone does not establish criminal conduct, but unexplained transfers should be investigated.

Selling Company Assets Below Market Value

Asset concealment can sometimes be disguised as a formal sale.

Example:

Company property worth approximately TRY 20 million is transferred to a related person for TRY 3 million.

Relevant evidence may include:

• Valuation reports
• Purchase agreement
• Bank records
• Corporate resolutions
• Relationship between parties
• Subsequent resale price

An unfavorable business transaction is not automatically criminal. Evidence of deliberate diversion for an unauthorized benefit would require a different analysis.

Fictitious Company Debt

Another possible method is creating an artificial liability.

Example:

A director claims:

“The company owes my other business TRY 12 million.”

Company funds are then transferred to that business.

Foreign shareholders should examine:

• Original agreement
• Invoice
• Service evidence
• Delivery
• Emails
• Accounting history
• Bank records
• Timing of the alleged debt

A document created after the shareholder dispute began deserves particularly careful examination.

Fake Consultancy Services

Consultancy invoices can be difficult to verify because no physical goods are delivered.

Ask for:

• Consultancy agreement
• Reports
• Presentations
• Emails
• Meeting records
• Work product
• Personnel involved
• Evidence of actual performance

An invoice alone does not necessarily establish that a service was genuinely performed.

Company Receivables Can Be Hidden

A company may have valuable receivables even if its bank balance is low.

For example, a director might:

• Collect receivables personally
• Redirect customers
• Settle debts without authority
• Assign receivables to a related company
• Record genuine customers as unpaid

Foreign shareholders should therefore examine accounts receivable as carefully as bank balances.

Foreign Bank Accounts

Money transferred abroad should be reconstructed from the Turkish side immediately.

Preserve:

• Sending account
• Transfer date
• Amount
• Currency
• Beneficiary
• Foreign bank
• Transaction reference
• Payment description
• Supporting contract

An international transfer is not inherently suspicious. Its commercial basis and ultimate beneficiary matter.

Crypto-Assets

Corporate funds may also be converted into crypto-assets.

Where that occurs, preserve available:

• Bank-to-platform transfers
• Exchange account records
• Asset type
• Wallet address
• Transaction hash
• Network
• Date and time

A blockchain transaction can establish movement between addresses, but a wallet address does not by itself prove which human controlled it.

Asset Concealment Before a Shareholder Meeting

Timing can be important.

Suppose substantial assets are transferred shortly before:

• General assembly
• Director removal
• Share transfer
• Company sale
• Audit
• Shareholder lawsuit
• Divorce between business partners

The timing does not prove criminal intent, but it can form part of the evidentiary chronology.

Asset Concealment After a Shareholder Dispute Begins

A common pattern is:

Dispute begins → Foreign shareholder requests records → Access is terminated → Assets begin moving.

Preserve evidence of:

• Information requests
• Refusal to provide records
• Banking changes
• Changes in signature authority
• Accounting access restrictions
• Subsequent transactions

Chronology can be highly important.

Refusing to Give Information Is Not Automatically Asset Theft

A manager’s refusal to provide company documents can create serious corporate-law issues.

But refusal alone does not prove that assets have been stolen or criminally concealed.

The investigation still needs to identify the underlying assets and transactions.

Accounting Manipulation

Bank records should be compared directly with accounting records.

For every significant transaction, determine:

Bank description

versus

Accounting description

versus

Commercial reality.

Example:

Bank: TRY 4 million to director
Accounting: Loan repayment
Underlying evidence: No identifiable historical loan

That discrepancy may require investigation.

Off-the-Books Transactions

A payment that is completely absent from the books can be particularly important.

But the absence of an accounting entry should not automatically determine criminal liability.

Determine:

• Who executed the transaction?
• Who controlled accounting?
• Was omission intentional?
• Was the transaction subsequently corrected?
• Was there an accounting mistake?

Personal responsibility must be individualized.

False Corporate Resolutions

Sometimes an allegedly unauthorized asset transfer is supported by a corporate resolution that another shareholder says never existed.

Preserve and examine:

• Original corporate books
• Signatures
• Meeting invitations
• Attendance
• Emails
• Electronic records
• Registry documentation where applicable

Do not assume authenticity merely because a document looks formal.

Backdated Contracts

A contract created after the transfer may become relevant.

Digital metadata, email history, accounting records and prior communications may help determine when the document actually came into existence.

Never create or backdate documents to strengthen either a complaint or a defense.

Personal Criminal Liability Is Not Automatic

A foreign shareholder should not assume that every director or shareholder is criminally responsible merely because assets disappeared during their management period.

The investigation should identify:

Who controlled the asset?

Who ordered the transaction?

Who approved it?

Who executed it?

Who created the accounting record?

Who benefited?

The person’s corporate title is relevant but is not a substitute for proof of individual conduct.

Majority Shareholder Liability

A 70% shareholder does not automatically become criminally responsible for every transaction performed by the company.

Conversely, majority ownership does not create immunity where evidence shows personal involvement in unauthorized asset diversion.

Control and conduct should be proven separately.

Minority Shareholder Liability

The same principle applies to minority shareholders.

A 10% shareholder who has no management authority presents a different factual situation from a 10% shareholder who controls banking and procurement.

Share percentage alone is not enough.

Nominee Directors and Foreign Directors

Foreign investors sometimes appoint a local director to manage daily operations.

If company assets later disappear, reconstruct the actual management structure.

Preserve:

• Appointment records
• Power of attorney
• Signature authority
• Banking mandates
• Internal instructions
• Employment agreement
• Reporting obligations

This evidence can establish who actually controlled the relevant transactions.

Could Fraud Apply?

Potentially.

Where deception was used to obtain or divert company property, fraud provisions may need to be considered.

For example, the suspected person may allegedly have used:

• False invoice
• False supplier
• Fictitious contract
• Fake corporate approval
• Misrepresentation to another authorized signatory

The facts determine the appropriate criminal characterization.

Could Theft Apply?

Potentially, depending on how the person obtained the property.

Secretly removing company inventory may present a different legal situation from a director who already had lawful management authority over the asset and allegedly misused that authority.

This distinction can affect whether theft, breach of trust or another offence is legally relevant.

Corporate Loss Is Not Automatically Criminal Loss

A bad investment is not necessarily asset concealment.

Suppose a director invests TRY 20 million in a legitimate project and the project fails.

The company may suffer a serious loss.

That does not itself prove criminal appropriation.

The investigation should distinguish:

commercial loss

from

unauthorized diversion for personal or third-party benefit.

Can Assets Be Seized During the Investigation?

Turkish criminal procedure provides mechanisms for seizure of specified property, rights and receivables where the statutory requirements are satisfied.

Article 128 covers categories including real estate, vehicles, bank and financial accounts, rights and receivables, securities, company shares, safe-deposit contents and other assets. The statutory framework requires the relevant connection between the alleged offence and the property.

Importantly for company-asset cases, breach of trust under Article 155 appears among the catalogue offences covered by Article 128.

Not Every Asset of the Suspect Can Automatically Be Frozen

The existence of a criminal investigation does not permit indiscriminate seizure of everything a suspect owns.

Constitutional Court materials addressing Article 128 emphasize the importance of establishing a connection between the asset and the alleged criminal conduct.

Accordingly, a foreign shareholder seeking urgent protection should identify the financial trail as precisely as possible.

Company Shares Can Also Become Relevant

Article 128 expressly includes a suspect’s shares in a company among the categories potentially subject to seizure when statutory requirements are satisfied, and it provides procedural rules for implementing a seizure concerning company shares.

This is a protective criminal-procedure measure and should not be confused with a final determination of guilt or permanent confiscation.

Asset Seizure Must Be Distinguished From Confiscation

This distinction is important for foreign investors.

Seizure during an investigation or prosecution is generally a protective procedural measure.

Confiscation is a separate substantive consequence governed by its own legal requirements.

A temporary restriction on an asset therefore does not itself establish criminal liability.

Third-Party Assets Require Careful Analysis

Suppose company money allegedly passes through:

Company → Director → Spouse → Property purchase.

The fact that an asset is registered to another person does not automatically end the inquiry.

But third-party ownership cannot simply be disregarded either.

The prosecution must establish the legally relevant connection between the property and alleged offence before applying the applicable measures.

What Evidence Should a Foreign Shareholder Preserve?

Immediately preserve available copies of:

• Bank statements
• Accounting ledgers
• Invoices
• Contracts
• Shareholder loan accounts
• Board resolutions
• General assembly resolutions
• Signature circulars
• Shareholders’ agreement
• Corporate emails
• Messaging records
• Inventory records
• Warehouse records
• Vehicle records
• Customer receivables
• Valuation reports

Do not wait until access to company systems is removed.

Preserve Digital Evidence Correctly

Do not simply collect dozens of cropped screenshots.

Where possible, preserve:

• Complete conversation
• Date and time
• Account or sender information
• Original file
• Email headers
• Attachments
• Related documents

Context may become crucial.

Do Not Illegally Access the Suspected Director’s Accounts

Suspicion of asset concealment does not authorize:

• Hacking email
• Guessing passwords
• Secretly accessing personal banking
• Installing spyware
• Breaking into cloud accounts

Evidence should be obtained lawfully.

Investigators can be asked to obtain evidence that a shareholder cannot legally access personally.

Preserve Evidence Before Confrontation

Where there is a genuine risk that evidence or assets will disappear, preservation should be considered before confronting the suspected individual.

Potentially vulnerable evidence includes:

• Emails
• Company server records
• Security footage
• Accounting data
• Warehouse records
• Banking documents

Do not, however, obstruct the company’s ordinary operations or alter records.

How Should the Criminal Complaint Be Prepared?

A useful complaint should be transaction-specific.

Instead of:

“The directors are hiding everything.”

write:

“On 4 February 2026, TRY 3.2 million was transferred from the company’s account to the personal account of Director A. The accounting ledger describes the transaction as repayment of a shareholder loan. The available historical bank and accounting records do not identify a corresponding loan.”

That gives investigators a concrete allegation to verify.

Build an Asset Concealment Table

Asset/Transaction	Corporate Record	Destination	Claimed Reason	Evidence Concern
TRY 3.2m transfer	Loan repayment	Director	Shareholder loan	No original loan located
Machinery	Asset sale	Affiliate	Sale	Price allegedly far below market
Customer payment	Receivable	Personal IBAN	Unknown	Company books show unpaid
Inventory	Warehouse exit	Unknown	Transfer	No invoice located

This can make a complex corporate investigation much easier to understand.

Ask the Prosecutor to Follow the Financial Trail

Where supported by the facts, the complaint should identify records that may clarify:

Company account → Recipient → Subsequent recipient → Ultimate asset or beneficiary.

Do not simply request every possible investigative measure.

Explain why the particular evidence is relevant.

Foreign Shareholder Versus Company as Victim

This distinction should be examined carefully.

If TRY 10 million belonging to the company is diverted, the immediate reduction occurs in the company’s assets.

The shareholder may suffer indirectly through reduced company value.

Corporate representation, complainant status and recovery strategy should therefore be assessed separately.

What If the Suspected Director Controls the Company?

This is a common problem.

The foreign shareholder may lack access to:

• Bank accounts
• Accounting
• Employees
• Company server
• Corporate books

Criminal proceedings may therefore need to be coordinated with appropriate company-law remedies designed to obtain information, protect corporate assets or address management disputes.

50-50 Shareholder Deadlock

Where two shareholders each hold 50%, the company may become practically unmanageable.

One partner may accuse the other of asset diversion while the other alleges obstruction.

A criminal complaint should focus on identifiable transactions rather than the overall breakdown of the relationship.

Corporate deadlock and criminal liability are separate issues.

2026 Position: No New Offence Called “Concealing Company Assets”

Foreign shareholders should be cautious about terminology.

For 2026 purposes, the key point is that Turkish criminal law does not need a standalone offence titled “concealing company assets” for potentially criminal conduct involving company property to be investigated.

Instead, prosecutors analyze the underlying conduct under the applicable offence provisions.

Where the allegation concerns misuse of entrusted corporate property, Article 155 can be particularly relevant. Where deception, unauthorized taking or false documentation is involved, different or additional provisions may require consideration.

The criminal classification should follow the facts.

20 Immediate Steps for a Foreign Shareholder

1. Identify each missing company asset.
2. Obtain available company bank statements.
3. Preserve suspicious transaction receipts.
4. Identify recipient accounts.
5. Review banking authority.
6. Review signature authority.
7. Preserve accounting records.
8. Review shareholder loan accounts.
9. Check dividend and remuneration records.
10. Preserve contracts and invoices.
11. Identify related-party transactions.
12. Compare inventory records with physical stock.
13. Review vehicle and machinery records.
14. Preserve customer payment information.
15. Preserve emails and messages.
16. Create a transaction chronology.
17. Identify the ultimate beneficiary where possible.
18. Do not alter or fabricate documents.
19. Assess criminal and corporate remedies together.
20. Seek prompt legal review where assets are continuing to move.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is concealing company assets a separate crime in Turkey?

Not necessarily under that specific title. Criminal liability depends on the underlying conduct. Breach of trust, fraud, theft or other offences may become relevant depending on how the assets were controlled, transferred or concealed.

2. Can a director commit breach of trust involving company assets?

Potentially. Where a person has lawful authority over entrusted property but allegedly uses it contrary to the entrusted purpose for unauthorized benefit, Article 155 may become relevant.

3. Can a shareholder take company money because they own 50% of the company?

Share ownership does not ordinarily mean direct personal ownership of the same percentage of every corporate asset. A transfer from the company to the shareholder should have an appropriate legal and corporate basis.

4. What if company money is transferred to another company owned by the director?

The underlying transaction must be investigated. A genuine purchase, loan or service can be legitimate. A fictitious transaction designed to divert company assets presents a different issue.

5. Can bank accounts be seized during a breach-of-trust investigation?

Potentially, where Article 128’s statutory conditions are met. Bank and financial accounts are among the asset categories addressed by the provision, and breach of trust under Article 155 is among the listed catalogue offences.

6. Can all of the suspect’s assets automatically be frozen?

No. Constitutional Court materials concerning Article 128 emphasize that the measure depends on the legally required connection between the property and the alleged offence; the mere existence of an investigation does not justify indiscriminate seizure of unrelated assets.

7. What if the money was transferred abroad?

Preserve the Turkish-side banking evidence immediately. Cross-border evidence gathering and recovery can be more complex, but the foreign destination does not by itself prevent investigation.

8. What if the suspected director says the money was repayment of a loan?

Reconstruct the alleged loan. Original transfers, agreements, accounting records and the shareholder current account can establish whether the debt genuinely existed.

9. Should a foreign shareholder confront the director immediately?

Evidence preservation should be considered first, particularly where records or assets may disappear. Evidence must always be obtained lawfully.

10. Does filing a criminal complaint guarantee recovery of company assets?

No. A criminal investigation may assist with evidence gathering, tracing and legally available protective measures, but corporate and civil recovery options may also need to be pursued.

2026 Criminal Defense and Asset-Recovery Strategy

A successful analysis of suspected concealed company assets should reconstruct four separate chains:

Ownership Chain:
Who legally owned the money, vehicle, machinery, receivable or inventory?

Authority Chain:
Who was authorized to control, transfer or dispose of it?

Transaction Chain:
Where did the asset move and through which accounts or entities?

Benefit Chain:
Who ultimately obtained the economic benefit?

The evidence can then be compared with:

Banking records → Accounting records → Corporate resolutions → Contracts → Communications → Commercial reality.

This method is useful both for foreign shareholders alleging asset diversion and for foreign directors wrongly accused after legitimate corporate transactions.

Where criminal asset-seizure measures are considered, the distinction between suspicion and proof remains important. Article 128 is a protective procedural mechanism subject to statutory conditions, not an automatic determination that the affected assets are criminal proceeds.

Legal Assistance for Foreign Shareholders Facing Concealed Company Assets in Turkey

When company money, receivables, machinery, vehicles, inventory or other assets appear to be disappearing, delays can make both evidence preservation and asset tracing significantly more difficult.

At the same time, a foreign shareholder should avoid treating every unexplained accounting transaction or unsuccessful business decision as a criminal offence.

Fırat Fesih Kaya Law Office provides legal assistance to foreign shareholders, investors, directors and foreign-owned companies dealing with suspected concealment, diversion or unauthorized transfer of company assets in Turkey.

Lawyer Fırat Fesih Kaya assists foreign clients with criminal complaints, criminal defense, bank-transfer analysis, evidence preservation, breach-of-trust allegations, unauthorized related-party transactions, company asset tracing, shareholder disputes and coordinated criminal and corporate recovery strategies.

Early review is particularly important where company assets are being moved through personal bank accounts, related companies, foreign accounts, cash transactions or crypto-assets.

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

This publication is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Whether concealment or transfer of company assets creates criminal liability depends on ownership, authority, the manner of transfer, the purpose of the transaction, individual intent, the financial trail and the evidence in the particular case.