Confiscation of Property in a Turkish Criminal Case: Your Car, Phone or Cash under TCK 54-55 and CMK 131

When the police take an item from you in Türkiye, the item has been seized or placed in safekeeping. It has not been confiscated. Confiscation is a later decision, and the law also provides a route for the item to come back.

Safekeeping and seizure. Under CMK 123/1, assets that are considered useful as evidence, or that form the subject of confiscation of items or of gains, are placed in safekeeping (muhafaza altına alınır). Under CMK 123/2, where the person holding such an item does not hand it over voluntarily, it may be seized. Under CMK 123/3, added in December 2020, the value of the items or assets placed in safekeeping or seized is determined.

Confiscation. TCK 54 deals with the confiscation of items (eşya müsaderesi) and TCK 55 with the confiscation of gains (kazanç müsaderesi). Both describe an order given by a court, and both contain conditions and exceptions that are set out below.

Return. Under CMK 131/1, where seized items belonging to the suspect, the defendant or third persons no longer need to be kept for the investigation or the trial, or where it is understood that they will not be subject to confiscation, the prosecutor, the judge or the court decides that they are to be given back, of its own motion or on request. Decisions rejecting the request may be objected to.

This note does not say whether a particular car, phone or sum of money will be returned, or when. Those questions depend on the file and are decided by the prosecutor or the court; the statute does not answer them.

Who orders a seizure. Under CMK 127/1, police officers may carry out a seizure on a judge's decision or, where delay would be harmful (gecikmesinde sakınca bulunan hâllerde), on the written order of the prosecutor, and where the prosecutor cannot be reached, on the written order of a senior police officer (kolluk amiri). Under CMK 127/2, the clear identity of the police officer is entered in the seizure record.

The judge's approval. Under CMK 127/3, a seizure carried out without a judge's decision is submitted to the approval of the competent judge within twenty-four hours. The judge announces the decision within forty-eight hours from the seizure; otherwise the seizure is lifted automatically.

Your right to ask a judge. Under CMK 127/4, a person whose items or other assets in their possession have been seized may ask the judge at any time for a decision on the matter. Under CMK 127/5, the seizure is notified without delay to the victim harmed by the offence.

The list of what was taken. Under CMK 121/1, at the end of a search the person searched is given, on request, a document and a list of the items seized or placed under protection. Under CMK 121/2, these documents also record the views and claims of the person searched about the ownership of the seized items. Under CMK 121/3, a full list of the items is made and the items are sealed with an official seal or marked.

For a foreign owner, the ownership statement in that record is the first written trace of the claim. How searches themselves are ordered is covered on the search and seizure page.

Real estate, registered vehicles and bank accounts. CMK 128 contains a separate regime. Under CMK 128/1, where there is strong suspicion, based on concrete evidence, that the offence under investigation or trial was committed and that the assets were obtained from it, the following belonging to the suspect or defendant may be seized: immovable property, land, sea or air vehicles, any account at a bank or other financial institution, rights and receivables, valuable papers, partnership shares in a company, safe-deposit box contents and other assets.

Under CMK 128/2, this paragraph applies to a list of offences, which includes theft (TCK 141, 142), robbery (TCK 148, 149), breach of trust (TCK 155), fraud (TCK 157, 158), manufacture and trade of drugs (TCK 188), counterfeiting money (TCK 197) and the offences in the Anti-Smuggling Law that carry imprisonment.

The way a CMK 128 seizure is carried out depends on the asset. Under CMK 128/3, a seizure of real estate is executed by an annotation in the land register. Under CMK 128/4, a seizure of land, sea and air vehicles is executed by an annotation in the register where they are recorded.

Under CMK 128/5, a seizure of a bank account is notified to the bank immediately by technical means of communication, and transactions made on the account to defeat the decision after it has been taken are invalid. Under CMK 128/9, only a judge may decide on a seizure under this article. The note on getting seized money released deals with frozen accounts in more detail.

The three categories. Under TCK 54/1, on condition that they do not belong to good-faith third parties (iyiniyetli üçüncü kişiler), the court orders the confiscation of items:

1. used in committing an intentional offence;
2. allocated to committing the offence; or
3. that came into existence through the offence.

The second sentence of the same paragraph adds a fourth category: items prepared for use in committing the offence are confiscated if they are dangerous for public security, public health or general morality. A sentence added in November 2016 deals with secured rights: where a limited real right (sınırlı ayni hak) has been established on the item in favour of good-faith third parties, the confiscation decision is given on condition that this right is reserved.

Value instead of the item. Under TCK 54/2, where an item within the first paragraph has been destroyed, disposed of, consumed, or its confiscation has been made impossible in another way, the court orders the confiscation of a sum of money equal to the value of the item.

The proportionality paragraph. Under TCK 54/3, where it is understood that confiscating an item used in the offence would lead to consequences heavier than the offence committed, and would therefore be contrary to equity, the court may decide not to order its confiscation. The verb in the text is hükmedilmeyebilir: the paragraph gives the court a discretion; it does not oblige it. Whether the consequences are heavier than the offence is for the court to assess in each file.

Items that are themselves unlawful. Under TCK 54/4, items whose production, possession, use, transport, purchase or sale constitutes an offence are confiscated. The good-faith third-party condition of TCK 54/1 is not repeated in this paragraph.

Parts and shares. Under TCK 54/5, where only some parts of a thing need to be confiscated and those parts can be separated without damaging the whole, only those parts are confiscated. Under TCK 54/6, for an item in which several persons hold shares, only the share of the person who participated in the offence is confiscated.

Rental and leasing companies. A hire car or a leased vehicle belongs to the rental or leasing company, not to the driver. Under TCK 54/1, items used in an intentional offence are confiscated on condition that they do not belong to good-faith third parties. Whether the company is a good-faith third party in a particular file is for the court to assess. Under CMK 131/1, the return route is open for items belonging to third persons as well as to the suspect and the defendant.

What TCK 55 covers. Under TCK 55/1, the court orders the confiscation of material benefits obtained through the offence, forming the subject of the offence or provided for committing the offence, and of the economic gains resulting from investing or converting those benefits. The same paragraph sets a condition: for a confiscation under this paragraph, the material benefit must not be capable of being returned to the victim of the offence.

Value confiscation. Under TCK 55/2, where the items or material benefits subject to confiscation cannot be seized, or are not delivered to the authority, the court orders the confiscation of the values that correspond to them.

A later buyer in good faith. Under TCK 55/3, added in June 2009, an item within this article can be confiscated from a person who acquired it later only if that person cannot benefit from the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code on the protection of good faith.

Cash found in a bag is therefore not one single question. If the prosecution says it was obtained through the offence or provided for committing it, TCK 55 is the provision in play, together with its condition about returning benefits to the victim. If the money is said to be an item used in an intentional offence, the provision referred to is TCK 54. Cash brought through customs raises separate questions, which are covered on the undeclared cash at Turkish customs page.

Vehicles in smuggling files. Under Article 13/1 of the Anti-Smuggling Law No. 5607, the Penal Code provisions on confiscation of items and gains apply to the offences in that law. For a means of transport knowingly used, or attempted to be used, to carry smuggled goods, one of the following conditions must be met before it can be confiscated:

1. the smuggled goods were hidden or carried in a concealed arrangement specially prepared to facilitate the offence or to prevent the act from being discovered;
2. the smuggled goods make up all or the predominant part of the vehicle's load by quantity or volume, or their transport made the use of that vehicle necessary; or
3. the smuggled goods are goods whose entry into or exit from Türkiye is prohibited, or substances harmful to public or environmental health.

Under Article 13/2 of Law 5607, the fact that no penalty is imposed on the offender because of effective remorse, or that the public case is dropped, does not prevent the confiscation provisions from being applied to the items that are the subject of the offence. The pages on the hidden-compartment test and on a foreign-plated vehicle seized in a smuggling case go through these conditions in detail.

The return decision. Under CMK 131/1, the prosecutor, the judge or the court decides that a seized item is to be given back where it no longer needs to be kept for the investigation or the trial, or where it is understood that it will not be confiscated. The decision is taken of the authority's own motion or on request, and a rejection may be objected to. Under CMK 131/2, items or other assets seized under CMK 128 are returned to their owner where they belong to the victim harmed by the offence and are no longer needed as evidence.

While the file is open. CMK 132 covers what happens to a seized item before the judgment becomes final:

• 132/1-3: a seized item may be disposed of before the judgment becomes final where there is a danger of it being damaged or losing a substantial part of its value. The decision is given by the judge during the investigation and by the court during the trial; before it, the suspect, defendant or other persons who own the item are heard, and the decision is notified to them.
• 132/4: the measures needed to preserve the value of the item and prevent damage are taken.
• 132/5: the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office during the investigation, or the court during the trial, may hand the item over for safekeeping to the suspect, the defendant or another person, on condition that they take the measures for its care and supervision and return it immediately when asked. The release may also be made subject to a security (teminat).
• 132/6: where the item no longer needs to be kept as evidence, it may be handed to the person concerned against immediate payment of its market value (rayiç değer). In that case, the paid market value becomes the subject of any confiscation decision.

A foreign owner whose car, phone or cash has been taken can follow the steps the statute describes in this order:

1. Ask for the list. Under CMK 121/1-2, the person searched may ask for the list of seized items, and the documents record their views and claims about ownership.
2. Gather proof of ownership. Registration papers, a purchase invoice, a bank record of the source of the money, or the rental or leasing contract. A rental or leasing company that owns the vehicle may make its own request, as CMK 131/1 covers items belonging to third persons.
3. File a request for return. The petition is addressed to the authority handling the file; CMK 131/1 names the prosecutor, the judge or the court as the authorities that decide. During the investigation, a person whose items were seized may also ask the judge for a decision at any time (CMK 127/4). A person abroad can act through a lawyer; see power of attorney for a Turkish criminal case from abroad.
4. Ask for interim safekeeping where it fits. Under CMK 132/5, the prosecutor's office during the investigation, or the court during the trial, may hand a seized item over for safekeeping; under CMK 132/6, an item no longer needed as evidence may be handed over against immediate payment of its market value.
5. Object to a rejection. CMK 131/1 provides that decisions rejecting the request may be objected to.

A passport taken by the police raises its own questions, set out on the page about a passport seized by the police.

The separate confiscation procedure. Under CMK 256/1, where a confiscation decision should be given but no public case has been filed, or a public case has been filed but no decision was given together with the merits, the prosecutor or the intervening party may apply to the court competent to hear the case for a decision. Under CMK 256/2, where a public case has been filed but no decision was given with the merits about items or assets that should be returned, the court decides on their return, of its own motion or at the request of those concerned.

A hearing, and a voice for the owner. Under CMK 257/1, decisions under CMK 256 are given with a hearing. Under CMK 257/2, persons who have a right over the items or assets to be confiscated or returned are also summoned to the hearing, and they may use the rights the defendant has. Under CMK 257/3, their failure to answer the summons does not postpone the proceedings and does not prevent the judgment. Under CMK 258/1, the appeal to the regional court of appeal (istinaf) is open against these judgments to the prosecutor, the intervening party and the persons named in CMK 257.

Items that are not the subject of an offence. Under CMK 259/1, the confiscation of an item that is not the subject of an offence but is only subject to confiscation is decided by the criminal judgeship of peace (sulh ceza hâkimi) without a hearing.

Confiscation alongside other outcomes. Under CMK 195/1, where the offence carries, alone or together, a judicial fine or confiscation, the hearing may be held even if the defendant does not attend. Under CMK 231/5, as amended in July 2026, the deferral of the announcement of the verdict (HAGB) means that the judgment produces no legal consequence for the defendant, except for the provisions on confiscation. A deferred verdict therefore does not by itself settle the property question; the suspended sentence and HAGB page explains the deferral.

If your property has been seized in Türkiye, a lawyer can obtain the seizure record, check which provision the authority relied on and prepare the request for return. The decision on the request remains with the prosecutor or the court.