28.04.2025 10:21
The statement given by Şafak Başa, the General Manager of İSKİ, who was detained as part of the second wave of operations targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), has emerged from the Financial Crimes Investigation Department.
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In the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) regarding "establishing, managing, and being a member of an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," "interfering with a tender," "bribery," and "qualified fraud"; the police statement of İSKİ General Manager Şafak Başa, who was detained in an operation carried out by the Financial Crimes Investigation Department teams, has emerged.
BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS WERE ASKED
Şafak Başa, who was detained, was questioned about the allegations in the bribery accusation statement of a person named Muhittin Erusta. In his complaint, Erusta stated, "I am presenting to your esteemed prosecutor's office the information, documents, lease contract, and photographs related to the official correspondence regarding the subject I mentioned in my statement on 28.03.2025. In a conversation I had with Begüm Çelikdelen, she personally told me that Ekrem İmamoğlu instructed her, 'You must not give this document to Tampa Mining.' I am a complainant against those who demanded bribes from me, namely Ekrem İmamoğlu, Adem Şanlısoy, Fatih Keleş, and Begüm Çelikdelen, the former general manager Şafak Başa."
"THEY WANTED TO OBTAIN A MEETING THROUGH THREATS"
In his statement, Başa said:
"The statement given by the person named Muhittin Erusta as a complainant to the Prosecutor's Office is completely unfounded. I do not know him. İSKİ is an organization that provides opinions regarding water basins by law. This is done through our Environmental Protection Control Department. Our planning department evaluates the incoming requests. It is sent to the relevant public institution with the signature of the Deputy General Manager. While the administrative process regarding the alleged incident is ongoing, my colleagues stated that there was no possibility of obtaining a positive opinion regarding this place by law. The person claiming to be a representative or partner of this company threatened İSKİ officials. They sent messages that amounted to verbal harassment on WhatsApp. I know that the person I know as İdris Özceleğ wanted to obtain a meeting through threats by pressuring İSKİ employees. Later, I gathered my colleagues and told them to review the file again to avoid making a wrong decision. They stated that they had corresponded with MAPEG and that they had given a negative opinion, that they did not have licenses, and therefore could not provide a positive opinion for this company. Therefore, we, as İSKİ, did not give a positive opinion by corresponding with the relevant units as required by the water basin regulations. We repeated our negative opinion several times.
"I REQUESTED PROTECTION RELATED TO THE INCIDENT"
On a holiday, a person named İdris came to me during a wreath-laying ceremony in the Fatih district. He wanted to talk to me. I invited him to İSKİ to listen to him. I said, 'Gather all your documents; if our units made a mistake, we will ask the legal department for their opinions and correct it.' I spoke with him in the corridor of the private secretary's office where all my colleagues could hear. I told him that I would send all the documents he provided to the legal department. I carefully reviewed all the files he provided and sent them to the legal affairs unit. They responded negatively on 13/05/2024. Since the person named İdris frequently came to the institution and harassed, our security department prepared a report on 28/05/2024. I requested protection related to this incident. My documents regarding this matter are available in the police sources through the governor's office. Upon request, protection was assigned to me. After our president was detained, they told me that the person named İdris wanted to come to İSKİ to talk to me. Since I was aware of the situation, I did not want to meet with him. He threatened my colleagues by saying, 'If you do not resolve my license issue, I will report Şafak Bey and his friends to the prosecutor's office.' After this incident, I learned about his allegations against me from the media."
"HE HAS RESORTED TO SLANDER BECAUSE HE COULD NOT OBTAIN A POSITIVE OPINION"
İdris Özcelep claimed that he did not receive the necessary approval from the İSKİ Water Basins Protection Department for the rehabilitation project he was carrying out in Pendik Kurnaköy, alleging that during this process, İSKİ General Manager Şafak Başa told him to go to Fatih Keleş and said, "Whatever you give, he is the only one who can solve your issue," interpreting this situation as a request for a bribe, and filed complaints against Şafak Başa along with Ekrem İmamoğlu, Murat Ongun, Fatih Keleş, and other officials for bribery, abuse of office, and creating victimization.
Başa responded to İdris Özcelep's allegations with the following statements:
"I reject all the allegations made in the person's statement. As I mentioned above, the allegations in the person's statement are completely slanderous. All administrative processes are subject to judicial review. If there was an injustice, he could have filed a lawsuit. He has slandered in this way because he knows he cannot obtain this right. All documents related to this matter are available in the prosecutor's office. He has resorted to slander because he could not obtain the positive opinion he wanted. I will file a criminal complaint using all my legal rights regarding this matter. As the general manager of İSKİ, my most important duty arising from the law is to protect the water basins. I have been fighting against illegal, zoning law violations, and negative issues related to water basins since I took office. I may be the general manager who has fought the most against illegal construction in the history of İSKİ. For this reason, I encounter such incidents related to these processes, but I have never made any unlawful decisions or provided opinions. In addition, I have never faced such slander in my 32-year professional career and 6-year İSKİ management career."
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