PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT II

DATE: 28 APRIL 2023

Upon the first complaint received by our Bank on April 7, 2023, our Audit Department initiated an investigation against Levent Büyükdere Branch Manager Seçil E., and a criminal complaint was filed with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on the same day. As the person in question could not be reached, our Bank requested Seçil E’s travel ban, and our regulatory and supervisory agency was also informed.

As a result of the examinations and evaluations made by our Audit Department, statements from a significant number of the claimants (18 people) were taken before Seçil E. was arrested.

Our preliminary investigation report was submitted to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Monday, April 10, 2023, and Seçil E. was taken into custody at around 23:30 on the same night, and subsequently arrested.

In this process, it has been decided to make the following statement to the public, based on the statements made by the claimants or their attorneys to the press, which mostly do not reflect the truth.

1. As of today (April 28, 2023), the examination of our Audit Department has been concluded and the comprehensive examination report, together with all its annexes, has been submitted to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office,

2. Simultaneously, a copy of the inspection report was submitted to the relevant supervisory and regulatory bodies,

3. The records of our Levent Büyükdere Branch, which is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by 28 cameras, were handed over to the financial police to be presented to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office,

4. The computer Seçil E. used was also handed over to the financial police to be presented to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office,

In addition to these issues, in response to the statements that have been made in the media organs for the last few days and contain false claims, it has become necessary to share the following issues in order to inform the public correctly:

Audit Departments of all banks initiate the necessary investigation and take the statement of the personnel subject to the complaint, in accordance with the obligation arising from Article 32 of the Banking Law No. 5411 and the relevant legislation. In this framework, the Internal Audit Department of our Bank also took the statements of the people related to the subject and prepared a report. In order to prepare the relevant report and submit it to the Prosecutor's Office, Seçil E.’s statement was taken on Sunday, April 9, 2023, and forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office on Monday, April 10, 2023, together with the preliminary examination report. In the complaints made to our bank, although we have directed the matter to be clarified as soon as possible, many of the people claiming to have been harmed have not applied to the prosecutor's office so far. The number of applications following us, is only three as of today (28 April 2023).
Our Bank's Levent Büyükdere Branch is monitored by more than 20 cameras, as in our other branches (Related records have been submitted to the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor, as stated above).
No document produced by the bank system regarding cash deliveries has been submitted to us to date. The documents claimed to be official are not produced based on the records of the banking system, but are some documents that are claimed to have been issued by Seçil E., have no equivalent in the legislation, contain short amounts, do not have a payment commitment, and are written on a daily planner sheet or plain A4 paper. A very important part of the claimants did not submit any documents to our Bank.
Some claimants hand-delivered the money they had withdrawn from their accounts in our branches, in places such as shopping malls, restaurants and cafes, in order to join the fund named after one of the complainants. In short, the system is a different structure that was established by individuals other than our Bank and branches, and named after one of the complainants.
All claimants are qualified investors with sufficient knowledge and equipment on how banking transactions work. As these people are very familiar with the investment products of our Bank, they can monitor their assets through internet banking, mobile banking, telephone banking and asset statements regularly sent to them, as well as our branches. In addition, they have the opportunity to inquire about all investment products, including all kinds of funds, from anywhere in the world via e-government or Central Registry Agency.
As we announced in our previous statement, banks are institutions of reputation and trust established by law and regularly audited within the framework of this law. We do not respond to these statements, which are reflected in the press and contain unfounded accusations, in detail and by name, in accordance with the legislation and banking ethics we are subject to. On the other hand, since the news made by consciously and deliberately highlighting the names of our Bank and our managers are false news that will damage the reputation of the bank within the meaning of Article 74 of the Banking Law No. 5411, the crime of "Injuring the Bank's Reputation" is also committed. We also inform the public that we will exercise all our legal rights in this matter.

You may find information on the entire process via this link.

Regards,

DenizBank Financial Services Group

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