21.03.2025 16:02
The conversation recordings between Murat Ongun, an executive of Medya A.Ş., and Serdal Taşkın, who are among the suspects detained as part of the İBB investigation, have been included in the corruption investigation file, allegedly related to the acquisition of personal data of Istanbul residents. In the audio recording, the suspects can be heard saying, "You can make 5 or 6 times the money, but it will come to light that we saw Istanbul."
The investigation initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) President Ekrem İmamoğlu and 99 suspects for the crimes of "being a leader of a criminal organization," "being a member of a criminal organization," "bribery," "corruption," "qualified fraud," "illegally obtaining personal data," and "interfering with a tender" is ongoing.
In the audio recording included in the investigation file, it is claimed that a conversation took place between the detained suspects, IMM Presidential Advisor and IMM Media AŞ Board Chairman Murat Ongun and former General Manager of Kültür A.Ş. Serdal Taşkın, in which it is stated that personal data of citizens living in Istanbul was obtained through Ongun's company "Reklam İstanbul."
"YOU CAN EARN 5, 6 TIMES MORE MONEY, BUT IT WILL REVEAL THE WHOLE OF ISTANBUL"
In the mentioned recording, suspect Taşkın is heard saying to Ongun, "From DMP (Data Management Platform), you can earn 3, 4 times maybe 5, 6 times more money. But this has caused a very big problem. It will reveal the whole of Istanbul that we see."
Ongun, in the continuation of the conversation, seems to express, "I may know Istanbul, but this may not have a commercial benefit for me. I may not use it, I may not open it to anyone. I may use it within myself. It may not be financially, but in another sense, it can be an investment. I wanted DMP not just in terms of selling goods to customers. I wanted it in both senses."
"I AM NATURALLY PROTECTING PUBLIC MONEY"
After Taşkın's remarks regarding DMP, Ongun stated, "Now we did not enter this business to make a commercial business. We entered this as a political issue. Ultimately, there is a running system, and it needs to generate income. Therefore, we are actually a bit of something. I have a logical thought. Now my Media A.Ş., my subsidiary companies, etc., are doing social media promotion, for example. Compared to before, they are currently doing it much cheaper by working with 'Reklamist.' It comes 15% cheaper. I am naturally protecting public money at the same time."
At the end of the audio recording, Taşkın is understood to say, "Let me give you some information. For example, Google takes a 32% commission. We made a 10% agreement with the global agency. Even that is not at that level. We have made the best commercial agreement globally right now. I had been promoted in the meantime, and I crowned the promotion that way. You know what my fear is? We experienced it in a bank. We established DMP in the bank. When the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) heard that DMP was established, they came, and there were quite a few discussions. Somehow, since BDDK did not understand anything, we managed to pass it off as media. But suddenly, BDDK became aware. These personal data became an issue. They were about to impose a fine of 50-60 million on the bank."
Meanwhile, it is also noted in the prosecutor's investigation file that the "Reklam İstanbul" company received more than 70 irregular tenders from Media A.Ş. between 2022 and 2024.
Additionally, it was included in the investigation file that fugitive suspect Emrah Bağdatlı also obtained the personal data of citizens living in Istanbul, and that these data were used in IMM.