IT MAY BE LEGAL. BUT IS IT RIGHT?
Does the fact that something is legal mean it is right? If a decision has been made in accordance with the rules, is that enough to put our minds at ease? Or does our responsibility end where the law allows us to go?
Throughout my academic career, I had the opportunity to observe closely how institutions operate, how administrators make decisions, and how those decisions affect people. Over time, I came to realize something: Not every decision that complies with regulations and directives is necessarily fair.
Sometimes a procedure may appear to comply with all the rules, yet its outcome leaves people with a deep sense of injustice. That is because what is legal and what is right are not always the same thing.
Fund scandals that have made headlines in Türkiye, along with cases in which people have suffered losses after being promised high returns, remind us that this issue deserves serious thought. People want to make their savings work for them, secure their future, and increase the money they have earned through years of hard work. That is perfectly natural. The real question is how their trust is used and what responsibilities fall on those entrusted with their money.
An investment may be presented as an opportunity to earn high returns. But we need to ask whether those promises are realistic, whether the risks have been clearly explained, and whether people have been given accurate information before making their decisions. When someone takes advantage of other people's trust for personal gain, the issue is not simply financial loss. It also involves the abuse of trust, disrespect for other people's hard work, and a failure to meet ethical responsibilities.
Of course, not every unsuccessful investment is fraud. Investments involve risk, and people can lose money. Establishing that a crime has been committed requires concrete evidence and a legal assessment. But we do not have to wait for a court ruling before asking whether a particular action raises ethical concerns. Misleading promises, concealed risks, and gains obtained at other people's expense deserve scrutiny in their own right.
Legality concerns whether an action complies with the law. Ethics asks whether that action is right, fair, and responsible toward others. In most cases, the two go hand in hand. But sometimes a transaction that appears to follow the rules can still undermine people's rights and trust. That is why we need to look not only at how something was done, but also at why it was done and whom its consequences affect.
History offers many examples of this distinction. In the past, discriminatory practices in some countries were supported by law. People could claim that what they were doing was legal. But that did not make their actions right. Something does not become fair simply because it is legal. Human rights, equality, and human dignity require us to question laws and the way they are applied.
We encounter similar situations in everyday life. A manager may favor certain employees without breaking any rules. An institution may comply with regulations and still put people through unnecessary hardship. The same is true in the financial world. Even when a transaction appears to meet formal requirements, serious ethical problems can arise if people are not given sufficient information, conflicts of interest are concealed, or trust is used for personal gain.
In such situations, asking “Am I entitled to do this?” is not enough. We also need to ask: “Is it fair? What information are people relying on to make their decisions? Am I taking advantage of someone's trust? If I were in their position, would I consider this behavior acceptable?”
Sometimes people try to avoid responsibility by saying, “I followed the rules.” But complying with the rules does not free us from the responsibility to consider the consequences of our actions. Just because we have the right to do something does not mean we should necessarily do it.
Another important issue raised by fund scandals is oversight and accountability. People expect those entrusted with their savings to act honestly. Institutions, in turn, must do more than simply record transactions. They need to monitor risks, investigate suspicious circumstances, and protect people's rights. Effective oversight matters not only because it helps identify those responsible after problems arise, but also because it can prevent people from suffering losses in the first place.
Administrators, financial institutions, oversight bodies, and public authorities all have important responsibilities in this regard. Having authority is not merely the right to make decisions; it also means accepting responsibility for their consequences. Earning people's trust matters, but so does proving worthy of it. The success of a system should be measured not only by how much money it generates, but also by how effectively it protects people.
Of course, acting ethically does not mean placing our personal beliefs above the law. Without the law, preventing arbitrary decisions and injustice becomes much more difficult. But when ethical principles are ignored, serious harm can occur even behind practices that appear to comply with the rules. Law and ethics should therefore not be seen as alternatives to one another, but as two essential foundations that complement each other.
Ultimately, the issue is not simply how a fund is managed or how much profit an investment generates. The deeper question is how we treat the trust people place in one another. People may lose their savings. But when they feel they have been deceived, they may lose more than their money; they may also lose their trust in others. The social cost of that loss can extend far beyond the financial damage suffered by individuals.
That is why we should not limit ourselves to asking, “Is what I am doing legal?” Sometimes there is a harder, but more important, question to ask:
“It may be legal. But is it right?”
The first question reminds us of our responsibility under the law. The second reminds us of our responsibility to our conscience.
A mature society needs more than people who simply obey the law. It also needs people who do not treat other people's trust as an opportunity for profit, who do not use their authority to the detriment of others, and who do not mistake having the power to do something for having the right to do everything.