"Fleece & Release": Animal Shelter Was Run Like Manager's Personal Piggy Bank, in Silivri

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 29 August 2024)

    Relaxing with some of her unwitting business partners.

Merve Yirik, the manager and association director for the "Silivri Canları

2. Hayat Melekleri Barınağı" (Silivri Living Things Second Life Angels

Shelter), sold the animals left at her shelter, took money from selected

veterinarians, and created fake receipts for supposed treatments of the 

animals.  In a police operation launched on 1 August Merve hanım was

caught red-handed and jailed.  

According to a MASAK (financial crimes bureau) report, between 2021

and 2024 the shelter collected 37,323,777 TL (about $1.1 million), of 

which 30 million TL came from contributions, and Merve hanım's 

family's debts were paid with the contribution money. 

New animal-powered business model.

In simultaneous police raids conducted on 28 August, shelter director

Halil Burak Değirmenci, cosmetic firm owner (!) Ünsal Kıran, Merve

hanım's father Orhan Yirik, her sister Gökçe Yirik Gençay and her 

brother-in-law Hasan Gençay were all taken into custody for  "acting

in bad faith" and "laundering ill-gotten gains".