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Three Belarusian citizens with diplomatic passports figure in a high-profile criminal case involving Alihan Kuriş, a religious figure and leader of the conservative Islamic movement “Süleymancılar.” Turkish authorities accuse the movement’s leaders of forming a criminal organization, money laundering, fraud and financial misconduct.
The Ankara prosecutor’s office issued arrest warrants for 43 people, but some of them are abroad. On Aug. 13, 38 people, including Kuris, were detained as part of the investigation.
During the investigation, law enforcement officials focused on vehicles used by Kuris’ associates. Officially, three vehicles were registered in the name of former Turkish Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin, the Turkish publication A Haber reports.
One of the vehicles, with registration number 34 S 7815, was used to transport Belarusian citizens with diplomatic passports.
According to the publication, three Belarusian citizens flew to Turkey through Bodrum Airport on Aug. 6. The automatic license plate recognition system recorded that on Aug. 21 all three were in the vehicle on the Güvercinlik–Torba route, resort settlements near Bodrum.
“According to the investigation data, the official vehicle allegedly used by Ömür Yücel arrived in Bursa on Aug. 21. There, at a roadside complex, the three Belarusian citizens were transferred to a vehicle with license plate 34 ELP 160, driven by Savaş Kocaman.
It was established that the vehicle used by Kocaman was registered to Tok Tarım Sanayi ve Dış Ticaret Limited Şirketi. It was also established that Kocaman and Ömür Yücel had been in telephone contact.
The three Belarusian citizens were subsequently taken to the airport. It was established that on Aug. 22 they left Turkey on a plane bound for Minsk,” the publication writes, citing case materials.
It was also established that two SIM cards allegedly used by the Belarusian citizens were activated on Aug. 4, 2026, in the name of Ömür Yücel.
This is not the only detail linked to Belarus. Investigators found that in September 2011, Ömür Yücel’s business partner Nevzat Büküm reported to the Istanbul Communications and Electronics Directorate a blackmail scheme involving women brought from Belarus. The victims were secretly filmed, and the recordings were used to secure the award of desired tenders.
A man named Mehmet Özmen was responsible for the logistics and transportation of the Belarusians. During the recent detentions, it emerged that he also drove another vehicle registered in the name of former Interior Minister Şahin.
“The investigative authorities included in the case files as one of the most important pieces of evidence the fact that the system of compromising material and blackmail created many years ago around Belarusian women directly intersects with the modern structure of the criminal organization and the movement of the vehicles in question,” A Haber writes.
It should be noted that the entourage of Aliaksandr Lukashenka has been vacationing in Bodrum for years. The government business jet EW-301PJ is often used for flights, forcing the prime minister to fly to Russia on a regular flight. On Aug. 21, the aircraft was in Dalaman, Turkey, and arrived in Bodrum the same day. A flight from Bodrum to Minsk is scheduled for today.