Operation Against Visa Appointment Scam

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek announced that an operation was carried out against visa appointment scams, coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Simultaneous operations were carried out in 6 cities at 63 addresses, and 49 suspects were detained. The investigation found that companies operating under the name of visa consultancy accessed the online appointment systems of consulates and authorized agencies through "bot" software, taking appointments in bulk. It was also determined that citizens were charged high fees under the names of "software", "consultancy", and "service fee" with the guarantee of obtaining a visa or appointment within a certain period, and in cases where the promised services were not provided, refunds were not made. As a result of the operations, it was found that approximately 918 million lira was collected from more than 41,000 people and directed to the accounts of company partners and employees.