“Special Turkish citizenship package for Iranians: Purchase a residential unit or storefront in this project and sell it after six months with a 15% guaranteed return. Our greatest offer to our Iranian brothers.”
This excerpt formed part of the Persian-language marketing material for the “Hayat Park” real estate development in Istanbul, featuring images of Turkish passports and national ID cards and promising seamless naturalization for Iranian buyers.
Turkish prosecutors now allege that this advertising campaign was the front for an organized criminal network facilitating illegal citizenship acquisitions. According to judicial authorities, hundreds of foreign nationals, including a substantial number of Iranians, unlawfully obtained Turkish passports using forged documents, fraudulent appraisal reports, and artificial banking transactions.
Under Turkish law, foreign nationals acquiring real estate to secure citizenship must meet a minimum statutory investment threshold, set at $250,000 before 2022 and $400,000 thereafter. However, the prosecution asserts that properties valued at approximately $140,000 to $153,000 were routinely overvalued in official appraisal documents to exceed $400,000.
