17.07.2025 18:39
The judicial statements of Mayor Özgür Kabadayı and lawyer Ali Şafak, who were arrested and removed from their positions as part of the investigation conducted against Şile Municipality, have emerged. In his statement, Kabadayı said, "I have never signed any illegal actions. I do not accept any of the accusations. I do not wish to benefit from effective remorse because I have committed no crime."
The statement of Şile Mayor Özgür Kabadayı and lawyer Ali Şafak, who were arrested as part of the investigation against Şile Municipality, has emerged. In his statement, Kabadayı said, "I have never signed any illegal transaction. I do not accept any of the accusations. I do not want to benefit from effective remorse because I have no crime. I am a child of Şile. I have no political background. My political party nominated me just because I am known and loved in Şile. I told all personnel that you will not carry out any transactions outside the legislation."
ŞILE MAYOR ARRESTED AND REMOVED FROM OFFICE
The Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation against Şile Municipality for the crimes of 'establishing an organization to commit a crime', 'embezzlement', 'bribery', and 'interfering with a tender'. As part of the ongoing investigation, six suspects, including Mayor Kabadayı, were detained in an operation conducted against Şile Municipality.
After completing their procedures at the police station, Mayor Özgür Kabadayı and suspects Oğuz Kaçmaz, Tuncay Tolga Özçakmak, Ali Şafak, and Evren Buçhan were brought to the courthouse on July 13 and referred to the duty magistrate court with a request for their arrest by the prosecutor's office. The court ruled that the other suspect, Aslı Kotan, should be released under judicial control in the form of a signature.
CAUGHT RED-HANDED FOR A 20,000 EURO BRIBE
In the referral letter written by the prosecutor to the judge for the arrest of the five suspects, it was stated that the police caught them red-handed while giving the first installment of the bribe, which was 20,000 euros, to Ali Şafak after asking for a bribe from the witness. It was noted in the letter that the witness A. had agreed with suspect Tuncay Tolga Özçakmak to give 50,000 euros for license transactions, that the money was prepared based on this agreement, that the witness delivered the said money to suspect Şafak, recorded the delivery, and took a photo of the bribe money, and submitted this evidence to the file. It was also explained that the serial numbers of the euros seized from suspect Şafak's bank safe were the same as those delivered by the witness. On the other hand, the Ministry of Interior announced that Özgür Kabadayı had been temporarily suspended from his duties.
KABADAYI: "I LIVE ON MY HONOR AND DIGNITY"
Mayor Özgür Kabadayı stated in his judicial testimony: "I serve as the Mayor of Şile. I could not understand why I was referred for arrest. I explained it in detail to the Prosecutor. There is no one in the statements who says 'The Mayor is guilty.' There is no one who says 'I gave money to the Mayor' or 'The Mayor asked me for money.' I do not know why I was referred for arrest.
If the personnel have engaged in wrongful acts, they should bear the consequences themselves. For example, when a traffic police officer takes a bribe, is the police chief arrested? This is how I have been treated. An injustice has been done. I am from Şile. I am the Mayor of the place where I grew up. I live on my honor and dignity. My late father never took a single bite of haram, and I have not either, nor will I. Please do not arrest me so that I can prepare my defense more clearly.
"I HAD DELEGATED SOME OF MY AUTHORITIES TO MY ASSISTANTS"
I am a citizen who lives for my honor. Since I do not understand technical matters, I had delegated some of my authorities to the Deputy Mayors to avoid signing something wrong due to being misled. This Deputy Mayor, Tuncay Tolga Özçakmak, started with the recommendation. Both our environment and our party mentioned the existence of such a friend to me. It did not need to be very technical.
"I REMOVED THE PREVIOUS FRIEND FROM OFFICE BECAUSE HE DID ILLEGAL WORK"
I removed the previous friend from office because he did a lot of illegal work despite being technical. Tuncay did not tell me that he was sent by İBB President Ekrem İmamoğlu as Deputy Mayor. I did not hear this from anywhere. Ekrem İmamoğlu is not even aware of it. There is only a distant kinship with the witness named İlker Özgür. I do not accept the statements of the witnesses."
"I DO NOT WANT TO BENEFIT FROM EFFECTIVE REMORSE BECAUSE I HAVE NO CRIME"
Kabadayı continued in his statement, "The best thing I did for myself is to delegate my signature authority to the relevant Deputy Mayors. Since it was my first term, I was learning some things by experiencing them. Since I come from a tradesman background, I am even learning bureaucratic attitudes anew. If I had known about these issues before they were reflected to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, I would have immediately dismissed all of them and filed a complaint in the relevant places. I have never signed any illegal transaction. I do not accept any of the accusations. I do not want to benefit from effective remorse because I have no crime.
I am a child of Şile. I have no political background. My political party nominated me just because I am known and loved in Şile. I told all personnel, 'You will not carry out any transactions outside the legislation.' The previous Mayor, who engaged in illegal transactions, is outside. I have not done anything illegal. I have no knowledge of it. None of the people there have accused me. There is no one who says, 'I gave money to Mayor Özgür' or 'He asked me for money.' I still cannot understand why I was referred for arrest. I gave my statement to the Prosecutor.
"THOSE WHO STEAL SHOULD FACE THE CONSEQUENCES"
There are witness statements that honor me. I want these to be taken into account. There are statements like 'Özgür Mayor has nothing to do with such things.' Those who steal should face the consequences. I live for my honor and dignity. I swear on my honor and dignity that I have not done any illegal work. If someone has done it without my knowledge, I say may God curse them."
"I DEFINITELY DID NOT HAVE A MEETING REQUESTING MONEY"
In the bribery footage, while he was turned away, lawyer Ali Şafak stated in his judicial testimony: "I signed a consultancy contract with Şile Municipality in March 2025. I only know the Mayor because he is the Mayor. I have no intimacy. I did not know him at all before March. I definitely do not accept the state of being caught red-handed. A trap was set for me. R. Ü. and A. B. Ü. harbor animosity towards me. I met a person named M. S. A. through a friend who is a member of the Beykoz Municipality Council. My acquaintance with this person dates back to about 2.5-3 months ago. I met him through S. C. C. I definitely did not have a meeting requesting money with the person named M. S. A.
We met in Beykoz. We also had dinner twice. During this time, I had animosity with A. B. R. Ü. spread rumors about me, saying that the police would take me and make me an informant. I tried to reach R. Ü., but I could not. I called A. B. Ü. I asked about the rumors about me. He told me, 'Brother, I heard something. My brother must have told you that.' He said, 'Do not misunderstand,' but I was threatened here. Afterwards, I informed him about the legal framework regarding the project Mehmet wanted to do.
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"WHEN MY BACK IS TURNED, HE LEAVES THE MONEY ON THE BACK SEAT"
I stated that the fee I had paid was no longer sufficient, and that there was an increase, resulting in a difference of approximately 7 million TL. Later, Mehmet wanted to meet with me. I invited him to the Municipality. He suggested we meet outside. We met. I explained the issue in detail within the legal framework. I was about to leave. As seen in the footage, I am walking ahead. While he came up behind me, I was hanging my jacket in my vehicle, and taking advantage of my turned back, he left the money on the back seat.
I have neither such a request nor any knowledge of it. Even if this person intends to bribe, since the matter is related to the condominium title, the solution lies with the title deed, meaning it has nothing to do with us. I have a 3.5-year-old son. As can be seen in the documents we submitted to the file, he has DMD muscular dystrophy. My wife is also a civil servant. If I am arrested, there will be no one to take care of my child who needs care. I do not want to benefit from effective remorse because I do not accept the accusation. I want to be released. In the worst case, I request to be released under house arrest.
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