Turkish police have detained 21 people linked to the Istanbul Gold Refinery and related companies on a charge of obtaining state support through fraudulent means, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Monday.
Police carried out simultaneous raids on the suspects across a dozen areas of the city after Istanbul prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 23 people, Anadolu said. The remaining two were still being sought.
The Istanbul Gold Refinery (IAR) is owned by the Halac family and is among London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accredited refineries, according to ownership data in Türkiye's official Trade Registry, Reuters reported.
Anadolu cited an Istanbul chief prosecutor's statement as saying IAR officials, including main shareholder Ozcan Halac, set up companies to receive a 3% state subsidy on $543.6 million of exports, leading to a $12.5-million loss to the state.
Anadolu said the investigation showed that the refinery had received 3% state support for selling foreign currency to the central bank in exchange for lira, under an incentive scheme designed to support the Turkish currency.
It said the suspects had first imported gold, processed it domestically and exported it again to generate forex inflows.
The IAR and Halac could not immediately be reached for comment.
The suspects were accused of violating the central bank law, a public finance law and a law related to the protection of the lira's value.
