In the normal world, people trust the other party when making a contract. In the past, Turkey was a place where you could make a hand shake deal with confidence. 
 

There are still some people who count on handshake deals, while there are other people who even trust a written agreement. But what would you do if that written and trusted agreement is a trap in itself?
For instance, the current tapu scam issue shaking the construction industry in the Turkish Riviera. The local chambers and authorities seem reluctant to put more pressure on this matter. I have read news reports that police have arrested several people in tapu scams.

We immediately need to classify the issues and make a to-do list about this matter. The first part involves past events and requires us to take action against these crooks involved in the scam.

There are three ways to take legal action in regard to the past events. Let’s classify this in numbers. Part 1 is the scam itself and the numbering goes ahead as 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3.

1.1 Taking criminal legal action against those who committed the scam and anyone who either helped them or kept silent or who was negligent about the crime taking place.

1.2 Taking civil legal action against those who committed the scam and against those who are negligent.

1.3. Taking administrative action before authorities other than the judicial authorities.

These legal actions might be addressed to several parties, including, but not limited to, the real estate agent who was either negligent or who committed this crime intentionally, the local agent here in Turkey, the translator (if there is mistranslation which can be proven) and the lawyers who may have acted in bad faith or been negligent with the transaction.

This is a costly and lengthy process and I would rather propose that victims gather to bring a class action lawsuit to reduce costs.

How should the future of property investment in Turkey be designed?

This is a liberal world and investors are totally free in deciding how they invest their funds. More often investors have a tendency to choose the easiest way of investing. However, the easiest way is not necessarily the best or the most secure way to invest.

There should be a strong and reliable investment guide for overseas property investors. However, this is not really sufficient enough to protect the overseas property investor.

I have received an email from a reader who is the victim of a tapu scam. This reader mentioned that the UK authorities are now more interested in this matter and a lecturer from a reputable English university is preparing a report about the reasons and results of the tapu scam.

When the report is published, we may have a broader view on the matter and may have the opportunity to assist investors by writing some guiding articles in this corner. Having said that, I am planning to write an article about the reasons for this tapu scam and will try to outline what should have been done and what is wrong with property projects in Turkey.
 

First published on Today's Zaman

July 21th,2010