Island Off Istanbul Teems With (Loan) Sharks

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 3 January 2019)


        Ahh, the nostalgia of horse & buggy loansharking.

Ömer Lütfü Savaş, the public prosecutor for the Princes' Islands in the
waters off Istanbul, has prepared an indictment against 45 individuals
known as the "Laçinliler Grubu" (group of those from Laçin), including
Yalçın Al (68) and his sons Gürkan Al (35) and Emir Al (29).  The Al
family, which is involved in the islands' famous horse & buggy trade, is
accused of loansharking.



              Known affectionately on the island as "Jaws".

The indictment alleges that the suspects lent money to other carriage
drivers and businessmen on Büyükada, the island group's biggest
island, at exorbitant interest rates.  When some of the victims could not
pay, 40 of their homes and hotels were appropriated by the gang.  One
victim, Bekir İpek, lost his hotel to the gang.  Brothers Hasan Karsan
and İsmail Adnan Karsan, along with his daughter Cemile Simge M.,
borrowed 150,000 TL (about $25,000) from the gang at loanshark
rates.

A MASAK (sources of individual wealth) report prepared for the
indictment and dated 26 February 2018, determined that the Al
family's wealth had increased disproportionately and showed them
owning 45 pieces of real estate, with Yalçın Al living in a mansion
worth 6 million TL.  The family's 17 carriages were confiscated.
The suspects face jail sentences of from 2 to 5 years but the trial
will not begin until May (!).