11.10.2026 12:10
Within the scope of the corruption investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into Esenyurt Municipality, striking statements and financial findings were reached. In the file, where three witnesses made similar allegations, some company officials claimed that they delivered millions of liras and hundreds of thousands of dollars to municipal administrator Yusuf Ulutaş in his office.
The details of the investigation launched over allegations that some tenders held at Esenyurt Municipality were organized in order to leave them to certain companies and that money was demanded from the companies that won the tenders in return for progress payments have emerged.
According to the information in the investigation file, it was claimed that companies that won the tenders were asked to pay an average of 20 percent of the progress payment amounts. It was stated that the witnesses who testified within the scope of the file made mutually corroborating statements regarding the tender and progress payment processes at the municipality.
“I GAVE 9 MILLION TL IN THE OFFICE”
Halil Yılmaz, whose statement was taken in the file, claimed that Yusuf Ulutaş demanded a total of 9 million TL from him so that he could collect the progress payments he was due to receive from the municipality. Yılmaz claimed that he delivered the amount in question in Ulutaş’s office on two different dates.
Orhan Yıldırım, whose statement was taken in the investigation, raised a similar allegation. Yıldırım claimed that Ulutaş asked him for money three or four times so that he could receive the progress payments, and that he gave a total of 300 to 400 thousand dollars in the office.
Yıldırım also stated that he last delivered 100 thousand dollars directly to Yusuf Ulutaş at the end of September.
ALLEGATION OF DELIVERY OF 3 MILLION TL IN A PASTRY SHOP
In an audio recording submitted to the investigation file, there were allegations regarding another money delivery. It was stated that in the audio recording of Erhan Toprak, the owner of the company named Topraköz, he told that he delivered 3 million TL to the nephew of ASM İnşaat official Salih Yılmaz at Seyrantepe Pastry Shop in Esenyurt in order to receive the progress payments.
It was stated that Toprak claimed that after the money delivery, the progress payments were deposited into his account and that Salih Yılmaz had informed him in advance that the payment would be made. Suspect Ümit Ünal, on the other hand, claimed in his statement that Erhan Toprak told him many times about the money delivery in question and said that the money ultimately reached Yusuf Ulutaş.
PROGRESS PAYMENT WAS DEPOSITED, 20 PERCENT WAS WITHDRAWN IN CASH
One of the striking parts of the investigation was the examinations of the bank accounts of the company named Namık Çebi İnşaat. In the financial examinations, it was determined that after progress payments were made by the municipality, amounts corresponding to approximately 20 percent of the money deposited into the company accounts were often withdrawn in cash on the same day or the next day.
In the file, examples of cash withdrawals were included: after a progress payment of 10 million TL, 2 million 100 thousand TL, and after a progress payment of 5 million TL, 1 million 125 thousand TL.
It was determined that the company employees who withdrew the money, Doğancan Güzel, Cemalettin Çağlayan and Harun Berber, along with Namık Çebi, gave signals from the same base stations as Anıl Alioğlu, who is alleged to have mediated the delivery of bribe money to Yusuf Ulutaş shortly after the money withdrawal transactions.
“I DELIVERED THE MONEY I RECEIVED IN ENVELOPES”
Suspect Anıl Alioğlu’s statement was also among the important statements that entered the investigation file. Alioğlu claimed that he received money in envelopes many times from people connected to Namık Çebi İnşaat, to be delivered to Yusuf Ulutaş, and that he delivered this money to İbrahim Doğancıoğlu.
Alioğlu also claimed that Ulutaş requested money not only from this company but also from other companies. He stated that he saw an envelope full of money brought by another company being delivered to İbrahim Doğancıoğlu to be delivered to Ulutaş.
ALLEGATION OF CASH MONEY WITH MARKET SHOPPING CARDS
In Anıl Alioğlu’s statement, another striking detail of the investigation was included. Alioğlu claimed that Yusuf Ulutaş requested shopping cards belonging to chain markets such as A101, BİM and FİLE from some companies and gave them to İbrahim Doğancıoğlu.
According to the statement, these shopping cards were later given to Namık Çebi İnşaat and some other companies, and cash money was obtained in return. It was stated that within the scope of the investigation, these allegations and card transactions were examined.
COMPUTER DETAIL IN BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS
Another allegation in the file was that Ziya Köklü, the owner of the company named Ekim Peyzaj, also provided Yusuf Ulutaş with a laptop in addition to money. Köklü stated in his statement that he bought the computers from Eyüp Mücahit Gülmez.
Gülmez submitted the invoices and WhatsApp correspondence regarding the computers to the investigation file. In his statement, he told that Yusuf Ulutaş’s phone number was sent to him for the delivery of the computers, and that after speaking with Ulutaş, he delivered the computers to the municipal employee to whom Ulutaş directed him.
PHONE INTERCEPTIONS ENTERED THE FILE
Within the scope of the investigation, communication surveillance measures were applied to the suspects pursuant to Article 135 of the Criminal Procedure Code. It was stated that 7 separate phone conversation records obtained within this scope entered the investigation file.
It was assessed that the conversations in question included talks regarding bribery allegations at the municipality and money relations.
STRIKING INCREASE IN MASAK REPORT: 231 MILLION TL IN 2025
In the report prepared by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), money transfer movements in Yusuf Ulutaş’s bank accounts were also scrutinized. According to the report, Ulutaş’s money transfer transaction volume, which was 601 thousand 619 TL in 2017, rose to 1 million 73 thousand 514 TL in 2018.
The transaction volume, which remained at an annual average of 400 thousand TL in the 2019-2021 period, exceeded 10 million TL in 2022. The transaction volume, which was at the level of 8.5 million TL in 2023 and 10.6 million TL in 2024, rose to 231 million 26 thousand 362 TL in 2025.
It was recorded that in 2026, up to the date the report was prepared, there was a transaction volume of 7 million 278 thousand 151 TL.
MONEY MOVEMENT OF 212 MILLION TL IN HIS SISTER’S ACCOUNT
One of the striking findings of the MASAK report was the financial transactions between Yusuf Ulutaş and his sister Tuba Ulutaş Şenyürek. In the report, it was stated that Ulutaş’s counterparty with the highest transaction volume was his sister Tuba Ulutaş Şenyürek, with 212 million 155 thousand 533 TL.
It was determined that the money entering Şenyürek’s account was generally deposited in cash by Yusuf Ulutaş, and then withdrawn in cash again by Şenyürek. It was also determined that on June 17, 2025, a money transfer of 15 million TL was made regarding an independent unit located in Bakırköy Şenlik Neighborhood.
In the MASAK report, it was stated that there were assessments that the real estate in question could be linked to crime proceeds and that the money movements could be intended to conceal their source. It was recorded that the known income of Şenyürek, who was stated to work at Turkish Airlines, was also not proportional to the money movements in her accounts.
“MY 24 YEARS OF LEGAL PRACTICE SAVINGS” DEFENSE
Yusuf Ulutaş, whose statement was taken within the scope of the investigation, made statements denying the allegations regarding the money movements in his accounts and his assets. Ulutaş argued that the money in question was savings he had earned from his 24-year legal career.
He said that he provided legal consultancy services to some people and received cash in return, and that his wife's family was wealthy and he also managed their money. Ulutaş stated that he deposited the savings in banks in order to invest them, later withdrew a portion and used it for payments, and kept the remaining amounts at home.
Ulutaş, who stated that his father-in-law planned to buy two residences within the scope of urban transformation for 400 thousand dollars and would therefore give him the money in question, also stated that he had set aside 2 million 500 thousand TL for title deed expenses.
450 THOUSAND DOLLARS, JEWELRY ITEMS, AND ROLEX WATCHES WERE FOUND AT HIS HOME
During a search carried out at Yusuf Ulutaş's residence on October 7, 2026, within the scope of the investigation, a large amount of cash and many valuables were seized.
In the search; 450 thousand 854 US dollars, 31 thousand 815 euros, 2 million 580 thousand TL, 35 bangles, 36 necklaces, 42 earrings and 17 rings, 26 pearls, 9 bracelets, 4 watches and 4 necklace pendants, 1 full gold coin, 6 Ata lira and various gold or gold-looking items, and 2 Rolex brand watches were found and seized.
It is being investigated whether there is a connection between the source of the seized cash and jewelry items and the tender and progress payments subject to the investigation.
MONEY TRAFFIC UNDER THE MICROSCOPE IN THE INVESTIGATION
The tender processes at Esenyurt Municipality, progress payments, and financial relationships between contractor companies constitute the main subjects of the investigation. Witness statements, suspect testimonies, bank transactions, the MASAK report, communication records, and digital evidence are being evaluated together to investigate the scope of the bribery allegations.
Within the scope of the investigation, efforts continue to determine possible connections between the suspects' asset movements and the revenues obtained from municipal tenders.
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