44 Million TL Asset Vanishing Act: Medicine Found Instead of Gold in Ahbap Foundation Safe

The investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office points to an unexpected gap in the Ahbap Foundation's asset management, revealing a surprising content in the association's safe deposit box where physical gold was expected.

The 44 Million TL Conversion Strategy

In the board decisions dated January 2026, it was planned to convert the 44 million TL in the association's bank account into gold to protect against inflationary pressure. However, the process relied on manual and physical transfers rather than standard banking operations. In accordance with the decision, TL assets were first converted to US dollars, then physically obtained as cash, and subsequently used to purchase gold from a jeweler. Haluk Levent is the sole signatory authorized in all these operations.

■44 million TL was transferred from the association's account to an exchange office, with the memo stating "1 million USD payment for Gaza to be received in hand."

■The procured 1 million dollars was physically delivered as cash.

■This cash was used to purchase physical gold from a jeweler, and a rental safe was held at the bank for storage.

The Safe Deposit Box Revelation

Following the appointment of a trustee to the association's assets within the scope of the investigation, the rental safe was opened on August 6th in the presence of police, experts, and lawyers. The expectation was to find the gold equivalent of 44 million TL, but the contents completely altered the financial picture.

■No physical gold or currency assets were found in the safe.

■The contents were identified only as medicines, vitamin pills, and a book.

■The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that investigations into the whereabouts of the 44 million TL, 1 million dollars, and the purchased gold are being deepened.

In portfolio management and corporate asset custody processes, the principle of "segregation of duties" is fundamental. Delegating the conversion of a fund from cash to forex, and then to physical gold, to a single person—even if they are top management—disables the most basic rule of financial controls: the dual signature and reconciliation mechanism. This incident clearly demonstrates to portfolio strategists how high the custody risk of physical assets is and that asset depletion is inevitable in environments lacking the principle of transparency.