Court Grants Bail to Bengü Gazitepe Amid Allegations of Diploma Fraud at KSTU

During the court hearing presided over by Judge Zehra Yalkut Bilgeç, Investigation Officer Emre Ertit from the Financial Crimes Unit presented the findings of the investigation.

Ertit explained that although Gazitepe's registration at the KSTU Psychology Department took place on June 5, 2023, the registration date was falsely represented as September 30, 2019. Furthermore, he stated that on June 19, 2023, all 61 courses were entered into the system, leading to Gazitepe's graduation.

Ertit further revealed that during the investigation, interviews were conducted with faculty members, none of whom recognized or made any entries for the suspect.

Additionally, it was uncovered that Gazitepe received a seniority increase payment from THY based on the fraudulent diploma.

Based on these revelations, Ertit requested the court to release the suspect on bail, subject to appropriate conditions.

The prosecution also supported this request, stating that the investigation had been completed.

Judge Zehra Yalkut Bilgeç ordered that Gazitepe's travel documents be confiscated, prohibiting them from leaving the country until the case is concluded. The judge further ruled that the suspect be released on bail, subject to the conditions of reporting to the police once a week, providing two guarantors with bail bonds of 750,000 TL each, and posting a cash bond of 100,000 TL."