04.09.2026 18:40
Former Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Melih Gökçek gave a statement as a 'suspect' within the scope of the investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the allegations that 'unregistered money was transferred to companies abroad.' After the statement process, which lasted approximately 2 hours, was completed, Gökçek made statements in front of the Ankara Courthouse and said, 'I have no concerns about justice.'
Melih Gokcek, the former mayor of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, against whom an ex officio investigation was launched by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office over allegations that 'unregistered money was transferred to companies abroad,' gave a statement as a 'suspect.'
FIRST STATEMENT AT THE COURTHOUSE EXIT: WE WILL TALK AT LENGTH ON TELEVISION WITH ALL OF YOU After the statement process, which lasted approximately 2 hours, was completed, Gokcek made statements to the press in front of the Ankara Courthouse, using the following expressions: "Here, you will all ask questions like 'what did you say.' I gave a statement to the prosecutor's office here, and this statement has confidentiality. Do not expect anything from me in the style of 'I said this, I said that.' If God grants it, this research and investigation by the prosecutor's office will be completed, and we will get the result. After that, don't worry, we will talk at length on television with all of you. Melih Gokcek is not a shy man either. You all know that I persistently invite my rivals to the screen and cannot bring them. Let me not name names, but you understand who it is.
"I JUMPED 500 TIMES AND GOT NON-PROSECUTION DECISIONS FROM ALL OF THEM WITHOUT EXCEPTION" I will give you some information. This is not the first time I have given a statement in my life, nor the first time I have come to the prosecutor's office. I will explain this in three parts. First, I was first elected as mayor in '94. I served as mayor in the opposition for about 9 years. The opposition tore me apart. I went through exactly 500 investigations and reviews. I gave statements for all of them. There is a famous saying: a grasshopper jumps once, jumps twice, and is caught on the third. I jumped 500 times and got non-prosecution decisions from all of them without exception. They couldn't catch me. They even detained me in '98. That's the first period. Second period, the Welfare Party and AK Party rule period. Didn't you go through investigations in this period? Well, I cannot give the exact number because I didn't count, but I went through a minimum of 100 investigations and reviews during the AK Party and Welfare Party rule. The statements are on file at the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Interior.
"MANSUR YAVAS IS LYING BY SAYING 'HE DIDN'T EVEN GO TO GIVE A STATEMENT'" Third period, the Mansur Yavas period. It is said that 100 investigations were opened against Melih Gokcek. This is a lie. Those who say this are lying. I went through a total of 25 reviews and investigations. 21 of these have been concluded, and the results of 4 have not reached me. Some of the concluded investigations were at the Ministry of Interior and some at the prosecutor's offices. During these investigations, expert reports were obtained. My statement was taken in all of them. Mansur Yavas is lying by saying 'He didn't even go to give a statement.' How many times did I invite him to the screen? Did you see him come? Actually, the biggest referee is the citizen. Who is afraid of appearing on screen? A person who is not right is afraid. During the Mansur Yavas period, 21 of my investigations were concluded. Mansur Yavas had objections made to all of these concluded investigations without exception. Where? They objected to the Council of State and the upper court. In the 21 upper courts and the Council of State, they were also approved in my favor.
THE GUM DETAIL DREW ATTENTION On the other hand, it drew attention that Gokcek had gum in his mouth while entering the courthouse to carry out his statement procedures.
Making a statement on the subject, Melih Gokcek's son, AK Party Ankara Deputy Osman Gokcek, said, "I would like to correct an issue regarding the news made a short while ago that my father Ibrahim Melih Gokcek had gum in his mouth while going to the courthouse to give a statement and that this constituted disrespect. As is known, he is a diabetic patient. Due to his condition, he sometimes uses gum and chewing tablets to relieve the dry mouth he experiences. The reason for the situation in the images is entirely this. Moreover, such a situation would not be possible while he was giving a statement to the esteemed Prosecutor anyway. I feel the need to make this statement in order to inform the public correctly."
WHAT HAPPENED? Following the allegations brought to the agenda by journalist Murat Agirel and which resonated widely in the public, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office took action. In the official statement made by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was announced that an ex officio investigation was initiated in order to clarify the allegations in the press that 'Ibrahim Melih Gokcek transferred unregistered money to companies abroad' and to reveal the material truth. Following the news of the investigation against him, Gokcek made a brief assessment, stating, "With God's permission, I am surrendering myself to Turkish justice."
STRIKING CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FROM ABB The legal process against Gokcek expanded even further with the new step taken by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality. ABB Lawyer Nadi Turkaslan filed a comprehensive criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office on the grounds that tenders of the municipality were rigged. In the petition submitted, it was requested that legal action be taken against Melih Gokcek, his family members, Beyaz TV Ankara executives, Osmanlispor executives, and other individuals alleged to have rigged the tenders, on the claim that they established a 'criminal organization.'