Enforcement shock with fake $2.8 million promissory note: The same promissory note was processed again with a photocopy

Zekai Kaplan, who was wanted in Muğla Köyceğiz in 2006 on the charge of 'deliberate murder', was caught and arrested in Antalya in 2015. Kaplan, who worked as a furniture maker for the 9 years he was in Antalya, initiated enforcement proceedings against Hasan Uzuner, a former industrial hardware store dealer from whom he bought materials at that time, with a promissory note of 2.8 million dollars in 2023, when he was on leave from prison due to the pandemic.

Uzuner, whose bank accounts were blocked due to enforcement proceedings, stated that he did not have such a debt and filed a complaint against Kaplan. In the report of the Forensic Medicine Institute dated November 9, 2023, it was noted that it was determined that the writings on the bill did not come from Uzuner's hand. According to the report, the signature belonged to Uzuner, but there were glue residues around the bill and fiber lifts in the form of the frame. Forensic Medicine determined that the signature was not made to confirm the content of the bill, but that the document was created using this signature. In his defense at trial, Kaplan denied the accusations, saying that he received the bill in an envelope from Uzuner and that he put it into execution for his receivables arising from the trade between them.

On October 22, 2025, Antalya 6th High Criminal Court sentenced Kaplan to 4 years and 2 months in prison and a judicial fine of 15 thousand liras for 'Fraud by using public institutions as a tool' and 2 years and 1 month in prison for 'Forgery of official documents'. The court ruled that there was no concrete and definitive evidence regarding Kaplan's receivable of 2 million 800 thousand dollars and decided to keep the original of the bill as evidence in the file. The decision in the file was given with open appeal.

In the process regarding the enforcement proceeding, the 12th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals decided to overturn the request for follow-up in 2023, stating that the Turkish lira equivalent of the foreign currency receivable was not shown. Complying with the reversal, the 12th Civil Chamber of the Antalya Regional Court of Justice canceled the enforcement proceedings against Uzuner on November 20, 2025. It was also stated that the way to appeal was open in the decision of the Regional Court of Justice.

Antalya 3rd Commercial Court of First Instance also decided on February 17, 2026, to determine that Uzuner was not indebted to Kaplan due to the promissory note in question. The court evaluated the new Forensic Medicine report and the criminal trial and concluded that the document was created fake and that Kaplan was pursuing it in bad faith. Kaplan was ordered to pay 20 percent of the bad faith compensation to Uzuner, calculated based on the Turkish lira equivalent of the bill price on the first follow-up date. This decision was also made open to appeal.

A second enforcement proceeding was initiated, this time using a photocopy of the same bill. In the new payment order of Antalya General Enforcement Office dated July 22, 2026, the creditor was again listed as Zekai Kaplan and the debtor was Hasan Uzuner. By adding interest and commission to the promissory note receivable of 2 million 800 thousand dollars, a total of 3 million 270 thousand 609 dollars and 42 cents was requested. The amount based on the fee was shown as 152 million 766 thousand 895 liras and 39 kuruş, based on the exchange rate of 46.7 TL that day.

Uzuner, who applied to the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on September 14, stated that the 2.8 million dollar bill, for which he was previously convicted, was put under enforcement proceedings again and filed a criminal complaint against Zekai Kaplan for reasons such as 'Qualified fraud by using public institutions and organizations as a tool', 'Forgery of official documents', 'Use of fake official documents'. In the criminal complaint, according to the Forensic Medicine Institute report dated November 9, 2023, it was determined that the writings on the bill did not come from Uzuner's hand, there were adhesive residues and fiber lifts around the signature, and that the bill was created using Uzuner's signature. In the petition, it was stated that Antalya 6th High Criminal Court sentenced Kaplan to a total of 6 years and 3 months in prison and a judicial fine of 15 thousand liras for fraud related to this bill. It was noted that the previous enforcement proceedings based on the promissory note were also canceled against Uzuner by the judicial decision.

Uzuner filed a criminal complaint with the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against Zekai Kaplan's lawyer, Fatma Çakmak, regarding the same incident and for actions that should be considered as participation in the crimes of 'Qualified fraud' and 'Forgery of official documents'. In the petition, it was stated that Çakmak represented Kaplan in the trial regarding the previous enforcement proceeding and served as a defense attorney in the criminal case in which the same bond was the subject. In the petition stating that the first enforcement proceedings were canceled against Uzuner and that Kaplan was sentenced to imprisonment and a fine, it was requested to investigate when Çakmak, who worked in these files, was aware of the decisions and the findings of the Forensic Medicine Institute regarding the document. In addition, in the new enforcement file opened in 2026 with the same bill, it was requested that Çakmak was Kaplan's representative again, who prepared and sent the follow-up request, who submitted the bill to the file, and who made the lien and collection requests, if any, from UYAP records. Uzuner stated that his complaint was not about Çakmak's practice as a lawyer, but about examining his information and will in the new prosecution, taking into account his position in the previous trials. In the petition, it was requested that a lawsuit be filed against Çakmak if criminal elements were detected as a result of the investigation.

Explaining that Zekai Kaplan bought materials from the hardware store he had a partnership with and that there were no problems until 2015, Hasan Uzuner said, "He committed a murder in Muğla and was caught in Antalya 9 years later. It was an ordinary company to which we gave goods. The employee in that company returned some goods to us and we deducted them from his account. He still had debts and we put them into enforcement after a certain time. Maybe an animosity arose because of this. He is put on leave under judicial control in the time of Corona. Meanwhile, they prepared such a fake promissory note. Then one day, a notification came, all our accounts were blocked. I was surprised, saying, 'God, I don't owe anything to anyone, how can it be blocked?' "I said, 'I don't have such a debt,' and ran to the prosecutor's office," he said.

Stating that there were foreclosures during the process and that all of their properties were asked to be sold, Uzuner said, "Just as we were saying 'we got rid of the incident', enforcements started coming again. Again, from the same person, with a photocopy of the same deed. We will go to the same courts again. They have to deposit 1.5 million liras for the enforcement proceedings, but since legal aid is provided, everything is free. They stall the court and leave us in a difficult situation, saying 'it's free anyway'. Banks are blocked again. Such an illogical, strange situation." "It's a surprising event," he said.

Uzuner's lawyer, Soner Gül, said, "After learning that his goods were seized, my client applied to the commercial court regarding the promissory note and filed a criminal complaint to the prosecutor's office. In the high criminal court, the defendant was sentenced to prison for 'Forgery of official documents' and 'Fraud'. In the commercial court, it was decided that my client was not indebted due to this promissory note. The original of the promissory note is in the judicial custody of the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Despite this, the same promissory note was subject to enforcement proceedings again." "We filed a criminal complaint against both Kaplan and his lawyer for this transaction," he said.