Asylum seekers from Turkey can purchase genuine criminal investigations against themselves to increase their chances of remaining in Europe. Behind this scheme are allegedly corrupt prosecutors who, for payment, register legal proceedings in the country’s official system.

A criminal investigation, a house search, and an indictment for approximately 8,800 kronor. That is what one of the intermediaries offering Turkish citizens assistance in establishing asylum grounds in Germany is said to charge for their services.

The scheme was revealed in an investigation by the German newspaper Die Zeit, as reported by Welt. By bribing prosecutors in Turkey, the intermediaries can arrange for real legal proceedings, which are then used as evidence of political persecution when applying for asylum.

These services are marketed, among other places, via TikTok and Telegram. Those who also want help to get to Germany can purchase a full package including people smuggling and documents to substantiate their asylum claims. The price starts at around 6,000 euros, equivalent to about 66,000 kronor.

Genuine indictments registered in the authorities’ system

The method is based on the asylum seeker posting a critical comment about Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on social media. Insulting the president is a criminal offense under Turkish law.

A prosecutor who, according to the investigation, has been bribed then initiates a preliminary investigation based on the post. The case is registered in the official Turkish legal system Uyap, where the country’s criminal investigations, indictments, and verdicts are collected. The key point is that the documents are not mere forgeries. The criminal investigation is actually registered with the authorities and can be verified through Turkey’s state e-services.

Later, when the person applies for asylum in Germany, they can present information from the official system as evidence that he or she is at risk of political persecution at home.

Journalists from Die Zeit contacted several intermediaries and pretended to be interested customers. One of them offered a package including a criminal investigation, house search, and indictment for 800 euros. The intermediary further claimed that he already had satisfied customers in Hamburg and Berlin.

German immigration authority surprised

The German immigration authority BAMF has previously experienced manipulations involving the Turkish legal system. This has previously included forged websites imitating the official Uyap database.

The new method presents a much harder-to-detect issue, as the information does exist in official records. According to the investigation, BAMF was surprised that even real legal proceedings could be used in this way.

Division chief Patrick Schmidtke states that the agency’s caseworkers encounter numerous contradictions and oddities in asylum cases. BAMF also emphasizes that each application is assessed individually.

This scheme is not risk-free for buyers of the service, either. One of the contacted intermediaries advised against the deal, since a person with a genuinely registered criminal case could face significant problems if ever returning to Turkey.

140,000 asylum applications

Turkish citizens constitute the third largest group of asylum seekers in Germany. Since 2021, around 140,000 asylum applications have been filed by people from the country.

At the same time, the chances of being granted protection have decreased sharply. In 2020, the protection rate was 43 percent, while, according to the reported figures, it is now around twelve percent.

The large number of applications has also created significant case backlogs in German courts. At the administrative court in Gelsenkirchen, two departments work exclusively with appeals from Turkish asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected. There, 685 cases are still awaiting decisions, and the court has recently dealt with appeals dating back to 2019.

Frankfurt-based expert Kamil Taylan, whose opinions are used in German asylum cases, warns that the fraud risks affecting even people genuinely persecuted for political reasons. As fabricated asylum grounds become more common, the credibility of other Turkish asylum seekers can be questioned.

It is not clear from the investigation how many people have actually received asylum through this exposed scheme.