Ece Güner, the lawyer, bombarded Haluk Levent from prison.

18.07.2026 13:50

Lawyer Ece Güner, who was arrested on July 16 as part of the investigation into the Ahbap Association, sent a comprehensive message to the public through her lawyers. Stating that Haluk Levent borrowed a large amount of money from her and that she struggled for a year to recover her funds, Güner said, "I had never met anyone who tells stories as well and convincingly as Haluk Levent."

A new development has occurred in the investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the Ahbap Association, which resulted in the arrest of 14 people, including Haluk Levent and Ece Güner. Ece Güner, who is in prison, broke her silence through her lawyers and recounted her experience in full detail.

"ALL PEOPLE WHO FELL INTO THE TRAP, INCLUDING ME, HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA"

In her message, Güner highlighted the common characteristics of Haluk Levent's victims and made these striking assessments:

"I had never met anyone who tells a story as well and convincingly as Haluk Levent. I suppose that is the common trait of great swindlers: they can convince even the smartest people. Notice, all the people whose emotional vulnerability he exploited, including me, have experienced major trauma in their lives. For example, a businessman who lost his daughter, and me—cancer and divorce. Also, the women I spoke with in the holding cell during detention, whom I met for the first time in my life: they were successful and wealthy in life, but they all shared the same common characteristics.

The victim profile is as follows: 1) mostly women, 2) all single women, 3) all have experienced certain traumas in their lives and are emotionally susceptible to abuse, and note: all have lived abroad for many years or still do. For instance, I didn't know Haluk Levent had been in prison because I grew up in France. The other woman in the holding cell who had given a lot of money was also from abroad; so, many truths were 'French' to me!

In conclusion, to summarize: I did not make a single penny of profit from this. On the contrary, I suffered for a year, experienced stress, and had to start taking antidepressants again. I simply and only TRUSTED Haluk Levent, who was portrayed as a hero and 'angel of goodness' at that time!"

FULL TEXT OF ECE GÜNER'S MESSAGE

Güner's full statement, detailing her experience and shared without any alterations, is as follows:

"WHEN YOU HEAR THOSE WORDS, YOUR WORLD COMES CRASHING DOWN"

"YOU HAVE CANCER!"

Only those who have heard this word at least once in their lives can judge my naivety, my emotional fragility. When you hear those words, your world comes crashing down in an instant. I remember my first thought: 'I won't see my son get married, I won't be able to hold my grandchildren.' I cried for hours. Then the struggle began. My first surgery (double mastectomy) lasted 9 hours. Such immense pain! I was given morphine for days to endure it. I hated it; it caused terrible nightmares. Then I lived for months with two drains in my chest; I would drain blood from my breasts every few hours. My mother would help me at my bedside, God bless her, and then she would cry in a corner after each draining session. Then I had two more surgeries: my ovaries and uterus were completely removed. Then the treatment process began again. It is still ongoing; I am still on cancer medication. (I have oncology reports available.)

During this process, my immune system became quite weak and at risk because some of my lymph nodes were also removed. Indeed, I was hospitalized for two weeks with pneumonia. Around the same time, my divorce process from my husband began. The illness and severe trauma undoubtedly played a part. If I remember correctly, it was the end of 2022; my divorce was finalized in December 2022. In 2022, I couldn't leave the house for months. I had to receive intensive psychological support and take antidepressant medication.

Due to the severe stress and anxiety caused by Haluk Levent during my struggle to get my money back, I had to start antidepressant medication again, and I am still using it today. My psychiatrist, Prof. Dr. Yankı Yazgan, and my psychologist, Dr. Şeyma Doğramacı, are the closest witnesses to all these processes. They are also the closest witnesses to the devastating stress I experienced until I got my money back.

"PEOPLE BORN LUCKY IN LIFE SHOULD HELP"

Returning to the end of 2022. My traumatic divorce process ended. In February 2023, the terrible Maraş earthquakes happened. I, humbly, have always tried to be a helpful person. It is said that 'the left hand should not know what the right hand gives,' but since my current situation involves deprivation of liberty caused by a well-intentioned donation, I feel the need to make some explanations. Throughout my life, I have tried my best to help my family, my employees, and even people I barely knew who asked for my help. I used to make regular donations to many associations. These included foundations and associations such as the Turkish Foundation for People with Disabilities, UNICEF, LÖSEV, and, unfortunately, AHBAP.

When helping people and organizations around me, I always think: 'Donating this amount won't bankrupt me, but it can make significant contributions to many people's lives.' I have never been someone for thousands-of-dollars shoes, clothes, or jewelry, but I have always tried to make both small and large donations without hesitation. Even in my current situation, I am grateful for that. Because that is what I learned from my family. In every period of my life, I have paid all my taxes down to the last penny, and I have received plaques for being a tax champion for years. I achieved everything I could by working day and night.

My belief has always been this: tax is separate, zakat is separate. I should give my zakat directly to people. Indeed, 'Zakat' is one of the most emphasized words among acts of worship in the Quran. Another belief I have never let go of throughout my life is: 'People who are born very lucky in life—like me—should help those who are less fortunate.'

Writing all this down makes me very sad, but due to what I have been through, I am compelled to tell these things, even if it saddens me. Yes, I am among those born lucky in life. I was born into a relatively wealthy, respected, well-educated family of good people. I grew up in France, graduated first in my class of 2000 French students at Paris Sorbonne. I speak French and English at a native level, and German at an advanced level. I have published 4 books to date.

Returning to my family, my late grandfather, Ömer Ülkü, was a highly respected and honest prosecutor and judge. He was from the Menteşoğlu family of Muğla. My late great-grandfather, Beyazıt Gün Güner, was a comrade-in-arms of Atatürk, a gendarmerie commander, originally a Rumelian from Konya. All the men on my father's side were soldiers, and on my mother's side, almost all the children are lawyers or judges. From these people of impeccable morals, I learned honesty above all.

Unfortunately, evil has enveloped everything so much that people have become accustomed to seeing only evil. No one believes that a person can try to be 'just a good person,' or that it is possible!

"I HAVE NO STREET SMARTS, I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE IT WHEN I ENCOUNTERED IT"

Yes, I am known as a successful lawyer; of course, I have a certain intelligence. For example, I have had a great career internationally, even serving as an arbitrator within the ICC International Court of Arbitration. However, my intelligence does not work towards cunning! Unfortunately, if it's the right term, I have no 'street smarts'! Because I never saw such wrong behaviors in my family, I didn't recognize it when I encountered it!

My dear mother and father are METU graduates.

Prison conditions or even what the world thinks of me don't matter at all because Allah knows my innocence and my heart. But I am ashamed before my son. How could I be so naive! Why am I causing these pains: this is my real downfall! Now let's return to the main topic. But first, I needed to describe myself, my experiences, i.e., what kind of person I am, so you can understand.

THE STORY OF MEETING HALUK LEVENT

I am 57 years old, and it seems I had never truly encountered a bad and dishonest person until the age of 54, as if I were a favored servant of Allah! (I had always read a lot, worked hard, but it seems I grew up in a 'cotton wool' environment.) I return to my first sentence: 'YOU HAVE CANCER!' and I repeat: people who have never heard this sentence in their lives, please do not judge my mood, emotional fragility, or high empathy.

A few months after the double severe trauma I experienced (cancer surgeries, treatment, and my divorce), the century's earthquakes occurred, and my heart was shattered. I felt guilty for not being able to go to the region because I was not fully recovered. I kept seeing Haluk Levent on television and social media. I was very impressed by his dedicated work. I thought: 'This person is a real angel.'

During that period, there were intense donations to Ahbap on social media; I also made a substantial donation. It turned out to be one of the highest donations. Afterwards (I think around April-May 2023), Haluk Levent contacted me and said he wanted to thank me in person. He had called me after my previous donations too, but I had always refused. After the earthquake, I finally accepted. He came to my office with a huge bouquet of flowers. He kept complimenting me, saying, 'How kind-hearted you are, a wonderful person.'

One evening in May 2023, Haluk Levent came to my home where I live with my mother and father. He gave a morale-boosting concert at home with his guitar for my mother, father, brother, and son. During those sad days, this greatly lifted my spirits. Later, he invited my brother and me to his concerts, seated us in the front row, came and sang to us at the concert, etc. After such a dark period, it was the first time I felt a bit cheerful.

Around the same time, from the very first day he came to my office, he asked for loans with various stories (I told these stories in detail to the police and the prosecutor's office). In summary, Haluk Levent said: 'I am Ahbap's biggest donor. I have donated a total of 9 million Dollars to Ahbap so far. We are experiencing temporary difficulties with certain projects. The related businessman's funds are temporarily blocked and will be released at the end of the month. If you lend me money for a very short period of one month, I will donate it to Ahbap, and once the businessman's funds are released, I will immediately repay you.' (I won't go into details to avoid lengthening this text; I explained everything to the prosecutor's office.)

To make a long story short, he asked for 3 million Dollars; I said, 'Impossible, I don't have that kind of money.' He played on my conscience, telling dozens of stories about good deeds. I felt so torn that I ended up in the hospital for 3 days in the summer of 2023 at Acıbadem Maslak with a 40-degree fever. Finally, I agreed to give 1 million Dollars, but I mentioned I was looking for a house and wanted to buy a home for myself with that money, emphasizing strongly that it must not exceed one month.

He said, 'I am Haluk Levent. In public opinion polls every year, I am voted Turkey's most trustworthy person. The whole country trusts me, how can you not trust me? That is a grave insult to me. In the worst-case scenario, Plan B, if the businessman's funds are not released, I will give 10 concerts, make an advertising deal, and still repay my debt.' In the following weeks, using the same method, he increased the loan I gave to an exploitative level of 1 million 570 thousand Dollars.

All the transfers I made were from my legal bank account at İş Bankası with the notation 'TL equivalent for Dollar debt.' I made the payments to the IBANs of three people given to me by Haluk Levent, and because it was Haluk Levent, I did not suspect anything. He said he always did it this way. The repayment I received after a year of intense struggle was also made to my bank account from individuals with the notation 'debt repayment.'

THE STRUGGLE TO RECOVER THE MONEY

I gave the loan to Haluk Levent as a Dollar debt, and the amount I received back was slightly less than what I gave on a Dollar basis. In TL, it was slightly more; I didn't even pay attention to that because I had given the loan in Dollars; besides, if I had put that money in a Currency Protected Deposit (KKM) for a year, I would have earned many times more! In short, I gave a loan to Haluk Levent, and for a year, he made my life miserable. Every week, he told a new long story to avoid paying, mentioned health issues. I felt sorry for him and kept extending the deadline.

At the end of one year, in the summer of 2024, I confided in my lawyer uncle, Togay Ülkü. He had a very harsh conversation with Haluk Levent. He said, 'If you don't pay our debt, we will go to the prosecutor's office.' Within a few weeks, Haluk Levent repaid the debt. At that time, we thought: 'So he must have been going through a difficult period, but he's not a fraudster. He paid his debt.' After that, on my family's advice, I blocked Haluk Levent from my phone and never contacted him again!

So, our acquaintance lasted only one year, and almost all of that time was spent trying to recover my money. For exactly two years now, I have had no contact with him! As far as I understand, Ahbap's controversial transactions occurred after 2025.

I have never met anyone as good at telling stories and as convincing as Haluk Levent. I suppose that is the common trait of big fraudsters: convincing even the smartest people. Be careful, all the people whose emotions he exploited, including me, have experienced major trauma in their lives. For example, a businessperson who lost his daughter, me—cancer and divorce. Also, the women I spoke to in the holding cell while in custody, whom I met for the first time in my life: their lives were successful/wealthy, but they all shared the same characteristics. The victim profile is as follows: 1) mostly women, 2) all lonely women, 3) all have experienced certain traumas in their lives and are emotionally susceptible to exploitation, and note: they all lived abroad for many years or still do. For example, because I grew up in France, I didn't know that Haluk Levent had been imprisoned.

The other woman who gave a lot of money and spoke with me in the holding cell was also from abroad; meaning, like me, she was 'French' to many realities!

'I DID NOT PROFIT A SINGLE PENNY, I AM INNOCENT'

In conclusion, to summarize: I did not profit a single penny from this matter. On the contrary, I suffered for a year, experienced stress, and had to start taking antidepressant medication again. I simply and only TRUSTED Haluk Levent, who was made into a hero, an 'angel of goodness'!

Also, I said it on the first day, and I repeat: I was never a lawyer or consultant for the Ahbap Association or Haluk Levent.I have never had any interest or connection with the association's affairs. I accept all criticism; I was naive, I admit. But I have committed no crime! I was naive with my legal money, earned by working day and night for 30 years, for which I have submitted all tax records! I have also submitted my income and tax records from 2000-2024 to the prosecutor's office. My good faith and high sense of pity were exploited. But I only understand this now.

I want to consider this: I, Haluk Levent, truly had a side that did good deeds (he probably and hopefully carried out many acts of charity!). But at the same time, I believe he also had a dark side. If I had known about this dark side, I would not have donated even 1 lira to Ahbap or lent even 1 lira to Haluk Levent—I wouldn't have even walked down the same street! That's how clear it is.

I wish those who knew all this in 2023 had written more! I wish such a person had never been given the right to manage an association! In my opinion, by learning from this story, all parties should jointly prepare an urgent legal regulation. If associations and their managers have criminal records, they should never be allowed to manage; inspections should be more intensive and detailed. Transparency should be elevated to a higher level. And a lesson for all of us: we should not blindly hero-worship someone immediately!

I have learned a lot from this for myself. The most important lesson I have learned: 'The tailor really cannot mend his own tear!'

But I know one thing for certain: I AM INNOCENT! I have committed no crime. I embrace you all with love and respect. I pray for justice. "

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE INVESTIGATION?

In the in-depth investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, legal action was initiated against Haluk Levent, founder of the Ahbap Association, on charges of "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," "laundering assets derived from crime," and "violating the Tax Procedure Law and the Associations Law."

As part of the investigation, in the second wave of simultaneous operations in Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli, and Mugla, multiple addresses were raided and digital materials were seized. The Chief Prosecutor's Office announced to the public that, based on MASAK reports and technical and physical surveillance efforts, allegations of high-value money transfers from Ahbap Association accounts to personal accounts of some suspects were being examined.

According to allegations in the file, it is also stated that Haluk Levent conducted very high-value transactions on legal betting platforms between 2020 and 2026, and that money was transferred from Ahbap Association accounts to the account of Yeliz Kaya, alleged to be his assistant. Lawyer Ece Guner, who was detained and arrested as part of the investigation, argued that these money transfers occurred entirely within the scope of a debt relationship. In the ongoing legal process, the assets of the association and some suspects named in the investigation were also seized.