Turkish Competition Board Rejects İstanbul Certified Public Accountants’ Request Regarding Data Obtained During a Dawn Raid

The Turkish Competition Board (the “Board”) has rejected the request of the İstanbul Chamber of Sworn in Certified Public Accountants (İstanbul Yeminli Mali Müşavirler Odası, “İYMMO” in Turkish) for the return and irreversible destruction of all digital copies obtained during an dawn raid conducted at İYMMO. The Board concluded that the dawn raid was carried out in accordance with Article 15 of Law No 4054 on the Protection of Competition (the “Law”) and that there was no legal basis for ordering the return or destruction of the data held by the Board.

1. BACKGROUND TO THE INVESTIGATION AND THE DAWN RAID

The dawn raid took place on 4 February 2026 in the context of an investigation into 65 active undertakings in the accounting, audit, tax, consultancy, human resources and research sectors. The investigation concerned possible price-fixing, customer allocation, no-poaching arrangements and information exchange in breach of Article 4 of the Law.

During the dawn raid at İYMMO, the Board examined computers, e-mail accounts and mobile devices used by İYMMO’s directors and employees. The Board copied the relevant documents onto DVDs and temporarily stored the data obtained from mobile devices on an external disk. The data on the external disk was subsequently deleted in an irreversible manner, and a data deletion report was prepared. İYMMO was provided with a copy of the dawn raid minutes, one copy of the DVDs and one copy of the deletion report.

İYMMO nevertheless claimed that the dawn raid was unlawful and requested the return and permanent deletion of all copies obtained from personal mobile devices.

2. THE BOARD’S ASSESSMENT

• Public professional organizations may qualify as associations of undertakings

İYMMO argued that it could not be subject to a dawn raid because it is a non-profit public professional organization and does not engage in commercial activities.

The Board rejected this argument. Under Article 3 of the Law, an association of undertakings includes any organization established by undertakings to achieve certain objectives, regardless of whether it has legal personality. The Board held that the organization’s non-profit status or its status as a public professional organization does not prevent it from being classified as an association of undertakings.

The Board found that İYMMO’s members-sworn-in certified public accountants-carry out economic activities and therefore qualify as undertakings under the Law. It also noted that İYMMO has powers relating to the organization, supervision and regulation of the profession. Accordingly, the Board concluded that İYMMO qualifies as an association of undertakings and may be subject to an dawn raid under Article 15 of the Law.

• Article 15 does not exclude data stored on personal devices

İYMMO further argued that the Board had unlawfully copied personal mobile devices without a court order and without first separating personal data from professional data.

The Board held that Article 15(1)(a) of the Law authorizes the Board to examine and copy all types of data and documents held in physical or electronic environments and information systems of undertakings and associations of undertakings. The Board considered that the authorization documents provided during the dawn raid clearly identified the relevant Board decision, the subject and purpose of the dawn raid and the powers of the dawn raid team.

The Board also stated that Article 15 does not create a separate exception for data stored on personal devices. According to the Board, communications relevant to a competition investigation may be conducted by individuals and may contain personal data. Therefore, it may not be possible to distinguish between personal and professional data before the relevant information has been reviewed.

• The Board may retain data obtained lawfully during a dawn raid

İYMMO argued that the copied data included personal data and confidential information belonging to taxpayers, third parties and public authorities.

The Board referred to Article 28(2)(c) of the Personal Data Protection Law, which provides an exemption where the processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of supervisory or regulatory duties by public authorities acting under statutory powers. The Board concluded that the Board was entitled to obtain and retain the data collected within the scope of its powers under Articles 14 and 15 of the Law.

The Board further held that, in these circumstances, the relevant exemption also prevents the data subject from relying on the right to request the deletion or destruction of personal data under Article 11 of the Personal Data Protection Law. For this reason, the Board found no legal basis for ordering the return or deletion of the data held by the Board.

• Professional secrecy cannot be invoked to prevent an administrative investigation

İYMMO also relied on the professional secrecy obligation under Article 43 of Law No. 3568. The Board acknowledged that accountants and their employees are generally prohibited from disclosing information and secrets obtained in the course of their work. However, it emphasized that Article 43 expressly provides that judicial and administrative investigations fall outside the scope of this obligation. Accordingly, the Board held that professional secrecy could not be used to prevent the Board from obtaining the relevant data during the dawn raid.

• The dawn raid was not contrary to the Constitution

The Board also rejected İYMMO’s constitutional objections. It relied on the Constitutional Court’s decision dated 6 November 2025, which held that the dawn raid powers granted to the Board under Article 15 of the Law serve the constitutional objective of protecting competition and ensuring the proper functioning of markets under Article 167 of the Constitution.

The Board therefore concluded that the dawn raid at İYMMO was conducted in accordance with Article 15 of the Law and that there was no need to order the return or destruction of the copies obtained from mobile devices.

3. CONCLUSION

The decision confirms that the Board’s dawn raids powers may extend to public professional organizations where their members carry out economic activities. It also confirms that the Board may examine and copy data stored on electronic devices, including personal devices, where the data may be relevant to a competition investigation.

The Board’s reasoning further indicates that the presence of personal data or information covered by professional secrecy does not automatically require the Board to return or delete the data, provided that the data was obtained within the scope of a lawful dawn raid.

By its decision, the Board unanimously rejected İYMMO’s request for the return and irreversible destruction of the data obtained during the dawn raid.