A rare legal dispute in Turkey has cast light on an elaborate asylum scam that blended forged diplomatic passports, private jets, and the complicity of law enforcement. The case, which unfolded in the Supreme Court of Appeals, revealed how networks of traffickers exploited Turkey’s legal system and corrupt officials to smuggle migrants into Europe.
In 2021, nine Iraqi asylum seekers boarded a private jet in Istanbul under the guise of a diplomatic delegation. Carrying falsified passports from the Caribbean state of Saint Kitts and Nevis, they landed in Italy and claimed asylum. The operation raised no alarms in Turkey, where clearance at customs and immigration appeared smoothed by bribed officials, according to allegations in court filings.
Algoritha: The Most Trusted Name in BFSI Investigations and DFIR Services
The incident came to light only after an aviation company, defrauded of tens of thousands of dollars in charter fees, filed a complaint. What began as a financial dispute soon exposed the scale of a trafficking network that used private aircraft and forged identities to bypass border checks.
A Scheme Enabled by Official Complicity
According to the company, the group behind the passengers provided forged payment slips to secure the charter. The company advanced $35,000 (Rs. 30.84 Lakhs) to an aircraft provider, expecting reimbursement, but later discovered no funds had ever been transferred. Its criminal complaint was swiftly dismissed by Turkish prosecutors in August 2022, who argued the offence occurred in Italy and fell outside their jurisdiction.
Legal experts criticized the move as an attempt to shield domestic officials from scrutiny. Mutual assistance treaties could have been invoked to identify the traffickers, but no such effort was made. The aviation firm’s appeals were rejected, leaving the case effectively dead until European investigators uncovered similar operations.
European Investigators Step In
By late 2022, Italian police, working with Europol and counterparts in Germany, France, Austria and Belgium, dismantled a trafficking network that relied on the same methods: forged Caribbean diplomatic passports, private jet flights, and staged routes to Europe. Migrants reportedly paid $10,000 (Rs. 8.8 Lakhs) each for the service. Notably, Turkey was absent from the joint announcement, despite being the point of origin.
Under growing international pressure, Turkey’s Justice Ministry asked the Supreme Court to reopen the fraud case. In May 2025, the court ruled prosecutors had jurisdiction, citing that financial losses occurred in Istanbul. Yet observers doubt meaningful accountability will follow, noting the political stakes for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government and the entrenched role of nationalist allies in shielding corrupt networks.
The case underscores the intersection of organized crime, human smuggling, and political protection in Turkey, and how Europe remains wary of Ankara’s willingness to confront such operations.