Bank Account Instead of Intermediaries: Scandal Over Turkmenistan’s Consular Services in Istanbul Reveals a Deeper Problem

Bank Account Instead of Intermediaries: Scandal Over Turkmenistan’s Consular Services in Istanbul Reveals a Deeper Problem The Consulate of Turkmenistan in Istanbul is changing the procedure for paying consular fees: citizens will now be required to transfer payments directly to a special account at Turkey’s Ziraat Bankası and specify the exact purpose of the payment. Formally, this measure is intended to protect citizens from fraud. However, the very fact that the payment system had to be urgently changed raises much more serious questions. According to published information, the decision followed numerous reports of cases in which Turkmen citizens living in Turkey handed money to intermediaries who promised to resolve problems related to documents. There have also been allegations concerning the conduct of certain individuals connected with the consular system. One of the most widely reported incidents occurred in the summer of 2026, when, according to available reports, around one hundred Turkmen citizens may have fallen victim to fraud, with several of them reportedly contacting Turkish law-enforcement authorities. Following consultations between the Turkmen side and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Turkey, a decision was reportedly made to channel payments for consular services through the banking system. But a bank account addresses only the technical side of the problem. If intermediaries, unofficial payments and schemes for “resolving issues” were able to operate around state institutions for an extended period, citizens deserve clear answers: Who was responsible? Were internal investigations conducted? How many complaints were received? And were victims reimbursed for their losses? This is particularly important because many of those seeking consular assistance are in vulnerable migration situations and are critically dependent on the Consulate. They may need documents for registering the birth of a child, registering a marriage, obtaining official certificates, confirming family status, or returning to Turkmenistan after losing a passport or after its expiration. A citizen should not have to search for the “right person,” pay an intermediary, or fear that their case will remain unresolved without an unofficial arrangement. Every consular service should have a publicly available fee, an official payment procedure, a clearly defined processing time and an accessible complaint mechanism. The comments left by citizens under the publication also highlight another serious issue: an extremely low level of trust in Turkmenistan’s state institutions. That is a problem that cannot be solved simply by introducing a new bank account. A genuine fight against corruption begins not with changing the method of payment, but with transparency, proper investigation of abuses and accountability for those responsible. Citizens of Turkmenistan have the right to know what they are paying for, whom they are paying, and where they can turn if their rights are violated.