The Turkish prosecution has accused a group of young people of stealing and selling personal data from a government database, including the identification numbers of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and several ministers.
The indictment lists 20 individuals, 13 of whom were minors at the time of the crime in 2021. The hackers unlawfully accessed platforms controlled by the Ministries of Interior, Health, and Education, as well as systems belonging to other government agencies, insurance companies, and municipalities.
The defendants used Turkish citizens’ personal data to forge electronic documents — including academic and police certificates, property records, medical prescriptions, and others — for later sale.
According to investigation materials, the perpetrators offered clients online services such as issuing any desired medical leave document. They also possessed Erdoğan’s genuine 11-digit identification number and similar information on several ministers.
The theft from government databases was detected in 2021. Since April 2022, law enforcement agencies have been arresting suspects. Recently, prosecutors officially charged the young individuals — they could face up to 15 years in prison.
Turkey has previously seen scandals involving the theft of high-ranking officials’ data. In 2016, a group of unknown individuals published personal information of 50,000 people, including the president. The criminals claimed their actions were directed specifically against Erdoğan.
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