The First Bank Embezzlement in the Ottoman Empire: The case of Simonovic (1873-1875)

Abstract

The Ottoman Bank established in 1863 with British and French capital had the status of “central bank” of the Ottoman Empire in its privileges. The Ottoman Bank playing an important role in the Ottoman financial system during the 19th century came to the public agenda with a theft that took place in 1873. A deputy cashier, Mıgırdıc Simonovic employed for five years, robbed the Ottoman Bank. The large amount of money stolen and the fact that the theft went undetected for five years put the theft on the agenda of the press and society. During the court process in 1875, the allegations of Mıgırdıc Simonovic against the Ottoman Bank and its employees further increased the interest. This study aims to reveal the society’s view to the event using the victim-perpetratoraction definitions of the press by focusing on the first bank embezzlement and the court process in the Ottoman Empire. The origin of the study is the assumption that the media agenda shapes the public agenda. Content analysis method was used in the study and the timespan is limited to December 1873 and October 1875. The study aims to answer how the event and the court process appeared in press, society’s approach to the event, the definitions of action, perpetrator and victims by the press and did the definitions change in the process. The importance of the study is being the first to examine the embezzlement and litigation process. As a result of the study, it is understood that the society created different victim-perpetrator definitions in relation to the event.