Founder
January 25, 2026
8 min read
The primary challenge in crypto asset litigation has always been the inability of law to keep pace with technological speed. While victims waited years for the conclusion of lawsuits, defrauded funds would vanish into the blockchain. Article 128/A, added to the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK) by Law No. 7571, which came into effect on December 25, 2025, has fundamentally changed this equation. Victims now have the opportunity to recover their assets during the investigation phase, without waiting for a final court verdict.
CMK 128/A grants victims the right to seize suspicious crypto accounts and receive immediate restitution during the investigation phase, without waiting for a litigation process that can last for years.
At Genesis Hukuk, we understand that time is the most critical factor in blockchain-based crimes. To grasp the architectural shift introduced by the new regulation, it must be compared with the previous system:
Old System: The victim would file a complaint, the prosecutor's office would initiate a lawsuit, and the case would last 2-3 years. During this period, assets would often be laundered through "mixer" services or moved to cold wallets. Exchanges (especially global ones) would refuse cooperation, stating, "We cannot take action without a final court order."
New Era (CMK 128/A): Once the prosecutor's office identifies "reasonable suspicion," it can directly notify the crypto asset service provider (exchange) to suspend the account for 48 hours. More importantly, if the asset is determined to belong to the victim, an immediate restitution process can be initiated before the case concludes.
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Article 128/A of the Criminal Procedure Code is a specialized "rapid response" protocol applied to qualified fraud committed via information systems (TPC 158), theft, and bank/credit card crimes. The CMK 128/A mechanism is designed to match the speed of technological crimes.
The legislature has designed the process in four main technical steps:
Detection of Reasonable Suspicion: The Public Prosecutor reaches a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed based on the presented technical reports (on-chain analysis) and evidence.
Suspension: Upon the prosecutor's order, the relevant exchange account is frozen for 48 hours. This duration is a critical "Time-Lock" mechanism to prevent the assets from being moved.
Seizure: The asset is officially seized by a prosecutor's or judge's decision.
Early Restitution: Perhaps the most revolutionary step. Once it is understood that the seized asset belongs to the victim, there is no need to wait for the trial to end. The prosecutor's office returns the asset directly to the victim's wallet.
A screenshot is not enough to prompt the prosecutor's office; a technical and verifiable "Blockchain Tracking Report" that traces the funds is essential.
Our legal system values "documentation" over "declaration." To convince a prosecutor that the "reasonable suspicion" threshold has been met in crypto fraud, the following standards must be presented:
Hop Analysis: Mapping how the stolen asset left the initial wallet and which intermediate wallets it visited.
Cluster Detection: Determining whether the destination address is a personal wallet or a hot wallet of a centralized exchange (Binance, Kraken, etc.).
Signed Expert Opinion: Interpretation of technical data by a digital forensics expert or a competent lawyer to transform it into a "criminal evidence" format.
The belief that "my money went to a cold wallet (Ledger/Metamask), no one can access it anymore" is technically incorrect for centralized stablecoins like USDT and USDC.
The perception that "cold wallets are inaccessible," which has become a myth in the blockchain world, has lost its validity in the face of CMK 128/A's authority and the smart contract architecture of stablecoins.
Tether (USDT) Intervention: Tether management can remotely freeze the USDT balance in any wallet by executing the addBlackList function upon a prosecutor's request.
Circle (USDC) Intervention: Similarly, Circle uses a "Blacklist-on-Balance" mechanism to blacklist the asset in question and stop its transfer.
In other words, even if the defendant withdraws the funds from an exchange and hides them in a personal wallet, if the asset is in USDT/USDC, these assets can be locked at the "code level" (smart contract level) through the process managed by Genesis Hukuk.
CMK 128/A operates with the precision of a stopwatch. Missing these deadlines is the fine line between recovering or losing the asset:
0-24 Hours (Prosecutor's Decision): Upon the victim's application, the Public Prosecutor evaluates the case within 24 hours.
24-48 Hours (Freezing & Judicial Approval): The account is suspended by the exchange for 48 hours. The prosecutor's seizure decision is submitted to a judge within 24 hours; the judge announces their decision within 48 hours at the latest.
First 10 Days (Obligation to Provide Information): The crypto asset service provider is obliged to submit all requested log records and identity information (KYC) to the prosecutor's office within 10 days at the latest.
Under the new regulation, the Prosecutor's Office can send direct "suspension and restitution" orders to all crypto asset service providers (e.g., Binance Global), regardless of whether they are local or foreign.
The most common hurdle victims face is the response: "Binance TR is not authorized; your assets are on Binance Global." Many lawyers get stuck at this point, but CMK 128/A and the international legal architecture come into play here.
Tier-1 exchanges like Binance Global and similar entities, although not based in Turkey, have a policy of operating with an "Enforceable Court Order" or official prosecutorial instructions. The new law grants Turkish prosecutorial authorities the power to issue orders directly to "Crypto Asset Service Providers" (without discriminating between local and foreign).
In the past, prosecutors had to engage in months of postal correspondence through the "Ministry of Justice International Relations" department. This cumbersome process has come to an end:
Kodex Global & LERS: Giants like Binance and Coinbase use digital portals called the "Law Enforcement Request System" (LERS).
API-Based Justice: Prosecutorial authorities transmit their requests "digitally" through authorized email addresses or intermediary institutions (like Kodex). The LERS and API-based request process reduces a 6-month bureaucratic traffic to minutes.
At Genesis Hukuk, we minimize the risk of "rejection" by ensuring that the prosecutor's memorandum is prepared in a format suitable for these digital channels (in English and with technical terms).
The deterrent administrative fines of Law No. 7571 and the pressure of international compliance have increased the speed at which exchanges fulfill these requests.
Key Takeaway: CMK 128/A legally overrides "commercial secret" or "GDPR/KVKK" excuses; an exchange that fails to provide information faces administrative fines and licensing risks.
Exchanges often hide behind "Privacy Policy" texts to avoid responsibility toward users. However, in the legal hierarchy, Law ranks above company policies.
Paragraph 7 of CMK 128/A is clear: "The requested information or document must be sent within 10 days." This obligation triggers the "Explicitly provided for by laws" exception (Article 5/2-a) of the KVKK (Personal Data Protection Law). In other words, an exchange cannot refuse data to the prosecutor by claiming "client confidentiality." An exchange or payment institution that refuses or provides incomplete information faces:
Administrative fines between 50,000 TL and 300,000 TL,
MASAK sanctions ranging up to license revocation in case of recurrence.
Navigate complex blockchain regulations and licensing requirements in Turkey with our expert legal services. Avoid fines and safeguard your operations.
When you become a victim of fraud, every second counts. At Genesis Hukuk, we recommend following these steps based on our "Proactive Architecture" principle:
The fuel for the legal process is technical evidence. Secure the following data immediately:
Transaction Hash (TxID): The identification number of the transfer on the blockchain.
Wallet Addresses: The addresses from which the asset left and entered.
Exchange Communications: Support requests and the responses received.
A specialized application with a technical and legal infrastructure is required, rather than an ordinary complaint petition. Your petition should cite the relevant article of Law No. 7571 and request "seizure and restitution during the investigation phase."
Presenting a blockchain analysis report that traces the money to the prosecutor's office allows you to quickly surpass the "reasonable suspicion" threshold. At this stage, we map which hot wallet of which exchange the asset ended up in.
Once your grievance is resolved, you may fall under the state's tax radar. Recovered crypto assets can be evaluated as "Incidental Income" or "Capital Gains" from a Tax Law perspective. Especially if there is a difference between the value of your assets on the day they were stolen and the day they were returned (Volatility Paradox), you need to calculate the resulting tax liability.
To avoid surprises regarding tax obligations, you can anticipate your potential costs by using our Calculate Crypto Tax tool.
Understand the evolving legal landscape for crypto assets in Turkey, including KVHS, Travel Rule, and digital identity verification for 2025-2026.
This section answers the most critical and frequently asked questions regarding the practical application, process timeline, and international dimensions of CMK 128/A.
Yes. Criminal procedure rules are subject to the "immediate application" principle. If your case or investigation is ongoing, you can request restitution under CMK 128/A through your lawyer.
The greatest advantage of crypto assets is that they are independent of the defendant's physical location. If the asset is on a centralized exchange (CEX), legal correspondence with that exchange is sufficient for asset recovery. There is no need to wait for the defendant to be caught.
Exchanges do not provide information to individuals due to their "Privacy Policy." However, when the Prosecutor's Office requests it under CMK 128/A, sharing the data is a legal obligation. The rejection of your individual application is not the end of the road.
Freezing assets on decentralized structures (DEX/DeFi) is technically challenging. However, CMK 128/A becomes active once the assets are moved back to a centralized exchange (CEX) or intended to be cashed out. In these cases, a strategy of "on-chain" tracking and address blacklisting is pursued.
The primary goal of CMK 128/A is to increase speed. If the necessary technical reports are ready and communication channels with the exchange are open, the freezing process can occur within hours, and the restitution decision can be finalized within weeks with prosecutorial and judicial approval. The typical 2-3 year wait in traditional litigation has been eliminated.
Yes. "Smart Contract" interactions and swap operations on the blockchain can be traced. Converting stolen Bitcoin into Ethereum does not change the nature of the crime or the right to restitution; the traced "proceeds of crime" can be seized regardless of its current form.
We do not just write petitions; we build the technical architecture of justice. In crypto fraud cases, we go beyond classical legal services by combining technical tracking, direct communication with exchange compliance units, and international legal instruments. The law does not have to follow technology; it must work together with technology.
