28.03.2025 14:22
The statement of Adem Soytekin, who was arrested as part of the corruption investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), has been obtained. Soytekin, who is said to have worked as a plasterer at İmamoğlu Construction and later became disproportionately wealthy, denied the allegations that he was a front for İmamoğlu and stated that he started working in construction as a subcontractor, following in his father's footsteps.
The corruption investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from the position of İBB (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality) Mayor, and 99 suspects continues. The charges include "being a leader of a criminal organization," "being a member of a criminal organization," "bribery," "extortion," "qualified fraud," "illegally obtaining personal data," and "interfering with a tender."
Suspect Adem Soytekin, who was arrested on charges of "giving bribes" and "being a member of an organization established for the purpose of committing crimes," stated in his testimony taken as part of the investigation that he is the owner and chairman of the board of five companies.
Soytekin mentioned that they participated in nearly 30 tenders conducted by İBB for the purpose of purchasing or selling products and that they won three of them, and currently, six projects obtained from İBB subsidiaries are ongoing.
DENIED ALLEGATIONS OF BEING İMAMOĞLU'S TREASURER
In response to questions about the witness statement that "I met Adem Soytekin through Ekrem İmamoğlu. He used to be Ekrem's apprentice. However, he has been given a lot of work; he is Ekrem İmamoğlu's treasurer. Mehmet Murat Çalık, Fatih Keleş, and Adem Soytekin act together," suspect Soytekin said, "There were news articles about my coming from apprenticeship before. I had obtained access ban decisions regarding these. I did not come from apprenticeship."
Soytekin, who started working in construction as a subcontractor in his father's profession and has been active in the sector for nearly 30 years, stated, "The identity of the witness and whether he is a secret witness is not clear. Any person who has read the baseless news about me and harbors animosity may have slandered me. I absolutely do not accept their statements. I am not anyone's treasurer. I act independently in business and invest what I earn from construction back into construction."
ALLEGATION OF "15 MILLION LIRA BRIBE REQUESTED"
The witness statement taken by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was also read to Soytekin.
In the witness statement, it was stated that in 2016-2017, he gave his land in Beylikdüzü to a company named Gül İnşaat in exchange for construction and that half of the 15 million lira bribe requested for converting residential areas into shops was demanded from him, but he did not accept it.
The witness stated that he went to ADM Business Center with Zafer Gül and that they met with Murat Çalık, who was said to be the Mayor of Beylikdüzü at that time, saying, "Actually, he was Ekrem İmamoğlu's advisor. He was following up on the bribery matters. He asked me for 15 million Turkish Liras, and I reiterated that I would not give it. I wanted to get up from the table. He said to me, 'If you leave here, you can never come back.' I said, 'This is not your father's property; when I come, don't take me, let's see what happens.' Ekrem İmamoğlu's office was across from Murat Çalık's office. When he heard the sounds of the argument, İmamoğlu came out. He angrily said, 'What is going on?' and left. Upon the insistence of Zafer Gül and Murat Çalık, I and Gül İnşaat agreed to give a promissory note."
The witness stated that he gave the promissory notes he signed in his office to Zafer Gül and continued:
"D.A. said that the promissory notes were with Fatih Keleş and that we needed to make the payment to him. My lawyer at that time, Oğuzhan Güney (deceased), made the payment to Fatih Keleş together with D.A. and Zafer Gül. Later, Zafer and I agreed to give 13 apartments for the remaining promissory notes. I would give half, and Gül İnşaat would give the other half. We received the promissory notes in exchange for the apartments. At the request of Murat Çalık, we transferred the apartments to Adem Soytekin's company, Asoy İnşaat. In the following process, D.A. said that the apartments were transferred from Asoy İnşaat to Gül İnşaat and that they had defrauded me, and that Fatih Keleş was also Ekrem İmamoğlu's treasurer. D.A. acted as a real estate agent for the constructions made by Gül İnşaat. He worked for a commission. When he could not get his money from Gül İnşaat, he said he would report these people, that he knew everything they did, and that he would tell who he bribed. When I learned that my apartments were returned to Gül İnşaat, I spoke with Murat Çalık and said, 'Give me back my apartments,' but he said they would not return them."
Later, the witness stated that he spoke with Adem Soytekin, who was accompanied by Tuncay Yılmaz, the General Manager of İmamoğlu İnşaat, and expressed:
"I asked Adem Soytekin for my apartments. He said to me, 'What apartment will I give you, brother?' and got up from the table and left. I did not back down. I fought to get my apartments back. During this process, I was threatened, and I learned that a hired killer was being used. I sought my rights through CİMER and judicial authorities, but I could not get results. The irregularities that were committed were not pursued. They were either left unresolved or covered up. The Beylikdüzü and Büyükçekmece region is like a liberated zone. During the time Ekrem İmamoğlu was the Mayor of Beylikdüzü, he followed up on the work through Fatih Keleş, Adem Soytekin, Murat Çalık, and Tuncay Yılmaz. Unzoned lands were given to Adem Soytekin, which were later opened for zoning, and the significant income from these projects was shared with Ekrem İmamoğlu. When his name started to appear frequently in the press, Ekrem İmamoğlu transferred his properties over Adem to a company named Lotus İnşaat."
LAWSUIT REGARDING 13 APARTMENTS IN THE SUPREME COURT PROCESS
When asked about the allegations in the witness's statement, Soytekin said, "The witness in question is a person named U.G." Soytekin stated that a decision had been made by the judicial authorities regarding the issue raised by the witness.
Soytekin explained that after the rejection decision regarding the matter, they went to the Supreme Court and that the process is ongoing, stating that he received 13 apartments from Gül İnşaat, which he took as a share when he separated from the Gül-Asoy joint venture in Bahçeşehir at that time and that he withdrew from the project.
Soytekin mentioned that he returned 4 of these apartments, stating:
"The reason for this is that I could not use the existing apartments because there was a mortgage on them. I returned these to Gül İnşaat and exchanged them for unencumbered apartments from their other projects. I would also like to add that I have purchased over 100 apartments from Gül İnşaat, either in exchange for work or for money. These are recorded. The allegation that I bought unzoned land, later opened it for zoning to gain income, and shared this with Ekrem İmamoğlu, and that Ekrem İmamoğlu transferred his properties through my company to a company named Lotus is absolutely false. There has been no relationship between us and the company named Lotus. If there were such a property transfer, it would have been recorded."