ISTANBUL: A Turkish national on the run after allegedly embezzling money from thousands of people in a Ponzi scheme has been extradited to Turkey and detained.
Mehmet Aydin, 30, is thought to have collected the equivalent of more than $131 million in Turkish lira from over 130,000 people through an online scheme called Ciftlik, or Farm Bank, an online game inspired by FarmVille where participants owned virtual animals and crops. Aydin fled abroad with some of that money.
Official Anadolu news agency said Sunday the indictment against Aydin included 3,672 complainants and 48 suspects. Prosecutors are seeking over 75,000 years in prison on charges including establishing and running an illegal organization, fraud and money laundering.
Turkey had an Interpol red notice out for Aydin, who turned himself in to authorities in Brazil after more than three years on the run. He was brought back to Turkey late Saturday and taken into custody.
The trial against the defendants began in 2019. The next hearing with Aydin will take place on Sept. 14.
Fugitive extradited to Turkey to face Ponzi scheme charges
https://arab.news/2yksn
Fugitive extradited to Turkey to face Ponzi scheme charges
- Prosecutors are seeking over 75,000 years in prison on charges including establishing and running an illegal organization, fraud and money laundering
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 11,183
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Monday, losing 44.79 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 11,183.85.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.05 billion ($1.08 billion), as 69 of the listed stocks advanced, while 191 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 6.63 points or 0.44 percent, to close at 1,504.73.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 328.20 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 23,764.92. This comes as 22 of the listed stocks advanced, while 49 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Maharah Human Resources Co., with its share price surging by 7.26 percent to SR6.50.
Other top performers included Arabian Cement Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.27 percent to SR22.71, and Saudi Research and Media Group, which saw a 4.3 percent increase to SR104.30.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co., whose share price fell by 8.01 percent to SR207.80.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology and Al-Rajhi Co. for Cooperative Insurance also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 5.61 percent and 4.46 percent to SR12.79 and SR75, respectively.
On the announcement front, Etihad Etisalat Co. announced its financial results for 2025 with a 7.9 percent year-on-year growth in its revenues, to reach SR19.6 billion.
In a Tadawul statement, Mobily said that this growth is attributed to “the expansion of all revenue streams, with a healthy growth in the overall subscriber base.”
Mobily delivered an 11.6 percent increase in net profit, reaching SR3.4 billion in 2025 compared to SR3.1 billion in 2024.
The company’s share price reached SR67.85, marking a 0.37 percent increase on the main market.
