Article 161 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 defines fraudulent bankruptcy as follows: “A person who engages in fraudulent acts to reduce their assets shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of three to eight years, even if a bankruptcy ruling was issued before or after such fraudulent acts.” According to this provision, fraudulent bankruptcy refers to fraudulent acts committed by the bankrupt individual to reduce their assets. For such acts to be punishable under fraudulent bankruptcy, the individual must have been declared bankrupt. Furthermore, according to Article 161 of the Turkish Penal Code:
a) Seizing, concealing, or causing the value of assets serving as security for creditors’ claims to be diminished,
b) Concealing or destroying commercial ledgers, records, or documents to prevent the disclosure of assets with the intent to conceal them,
c) Preparing documents that falsely increase debts, even though no actual creditor-debtor relationship exists,
d) Underreporting the value of assets through the preparation of false accounting records or false balance sheets,
Such offenses are classified as fraudulent bankruptcy.