For ordinary citizens attempting to secure a visa, booking a consulate appointment is supposed to be a straightforward administrative step. But across Turkey, that routine process was systematically hijacked. On October 20, 2026, law enforcement agencies executed simultaneous operations targeting 60 suspects across eight provinces, exposing an intricate black-market scheme that monetized access to diplomatic appointments through automated software.
The operation marked a major escalation against fraudulent visa consultancy firms and social media operators who had effectively erected a private tollbooth in front of foreign consulates.
At the heart of the scheme was automated bot software designed to monitor and claim consulate appointment slots the instant they became available online. By deploying these bots, consultancy companies and individual operators systematically monopolized booking systems, restricting normal access for the general public.
To secure an appointment slot through the bot system, clients were charged extra payments ranging from 300 to 400 euros per transaction.
Once the slots were locked up, the suspects turned around and offered "guaranteed" visa appointments to applicants on social media platforms. Citizens who were unable to find open dates through standard channels were forced to rely on these paid intermediary services. To secure an appointment slot through the bot system, clients were charged extra payments ranging from 300 to 400 euros per transaction.
The illicit enterprise did not stop at appointment hoarding. According to investigators, many of the targeted companies and individuals failed to provide the promised services altogether once money changed hands. When aggrieved customers requested refunds after missed appointments or unfulfilled requests, the operators flatly refused to return their funds.
Compounding the fraud was a severe breach of privacy. The investigation revealed that the personal data of visa applicants was being illegally shared with third parties, exposing sensitive citizen information as it passed through the shadow network of illicit consultancy firms.
The financial scale of the operation is vast. Preliminary financial reports compiled by investigators indicate that total collections associated with the fraudulent visa and consultancy services reached approximately 370 million liras.
This multi-million-lira tally reflects widespread extraction from applicants across the country who felt compelled to pay inflated fees simply to submit their documentation to foreign consulates.
The enforcement actions taken on October 20, 2026, represent the second phase of an expanding investigation. The effort is led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau, which directed simultaneous raids executed by the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command alongside police forces across eight cities.
With 60 suspects placed under investigation in this second wave, officials have indicated that the crackdown is far from over. Law enforcement agencies are preparing to extend their operations into additional cities as they continue dismantling the networks that cornered consulate appointments and compromised applicant data.