Fraudulent money transfers: a case from Turkey

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show to the public in general and auditors in particular that the money deposited to the banks that operate in an uncontrolled medium can be misused by owners of the banks. Design/methodology/approach - The paper has been designed based on a fraud theory. The theory has been developed on financial analysis and audit tests. The theory then revised and the existence of a bogus company and its intermediary role in the fraud scheme has been proven. Findings - The paper explores that banks controlled by unreliable owners can lead to misuse of public's funds in accordance with the directives of the owner. Public's money can be transferred to other group companies in an illegal manner‐in excessive amounts and never returned to the bank by means of applying different accounting techniques. Practical implications - Auditors, who may audit group companies that include a bank or banks with deposit receiving and lending rights should pay attention to the transactions between the group's bank and the other group companies. The lending may be excessive in amount and/or never paid back and various accounting malpractices may exist. Originality/value - The case that the paper covers reflects the author's own audit experiences. The names of the companies have been changed but not the essence of the events. From this perspective it sheds light onto the path of an auditor who happens to be in a similar situation.