Allegations of corruption in healthcare: ‘Illegally manufactured prosthetics sold to hospitals’
It has been reported that illegally manufactured knee, hip and shoulder prosthetics were sold to university hospitals in Sivas. It has also been alleged that the company counterfeited the logo of a German company.
It has been alleged that a company based in Sivas produced platinum implants for tumourous bones in a manner that did not comply with standards and sold them to hospitals through an Ankara-based firm. It has also been claimed that the same company marketed dental implants produced at its own facility by imitating the logo of a well-known German brand. A complaint was filed with the public prosecutor's office regarding the company, which received unjust payments from the Social Security Institution (SGK) and threatened public health with its scandalous practices.
The allegations, which are the subject of an investigation conducted by the Sivas Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, prompted reactions such as, ‘This is too much.’ It was argued that a Sivas-based medical company had gained unjust profits from the SGK by engaging in practices that disregarded human health.
COMPLAINT TO THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE
The scandalous allegation came to light with a complaint filed by the owner of a medical company to the police. According to the petition submitted to the Sivas Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, a company operating in the Sivas Central Organised Industrial Zone produced implants that did not have CE certification demonstrating compliance with EU standards and lacked technical adequacy.
It was noted that the implants, produced without technical competence and the necessary certificates, were sold to hospitals through an agreement with a company operating in Ankara. The complaint emphasised that the products sold to hospitals, including major university hospitals, were of a quality that would adversely affect patients' health. It was also highlighted that the products, which were claimed to be below standard and ‘produced in back-alley workshops,’ were knee, shoulder, elbow, and hip prosthetics.
LETTER FROM GERMANY
The scandal did not end there. According to the allegations, the same company also began manufacturing dental products, primarily dental implants. The criminal complaint also alleged that the dental products were sold with counterfeit logos, holograms, and emblems of a well-known German company. The complaint file also included correspondence between the complainant and the German company. A letter received from the German company stated that ‘our products are manufactured only in Germany.’ The scale of the scandal was also revealed by the statement of an employee of the company, which is alleged to have put non-compliant products on the market and counterfeited the German company's logo. The employee stated that he had held many positions in the company and summarised his statement as follows: "These products were not labeled. Employees were specifically instructed not to label the products. The products were sent to a company in Ankara with a notification to ÜTS as specar. The products were sold to hospitals through M.Ş.A., a consultant physician within their own ranks, and were administered to patients.‘
’THE DOCTOR FOUND OUT’
According to the employee's claim, a doctor working at a university hospital in Ankara realised that the product purchased for patients was unbranded and lacked strength. It was stated that the doctor terminated the association of the individuals who facilitated the sale of the products with the hospital. In the criminal complaint filed with the prosecutor's office, it was stated, ‘I am the complainant against the company (E...) that is endangering the health of our people and defrauding our state by distributing substandard products without CE certification through various means.’
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Sağlıkta yolsuzluk iddiası: "Hastanelere merdivenaltı üretilen protez satıldı", published in BirGün newspaper on December 29, 2025.
