İmamoğlu: Ertan Yıldız is a disappointment to me.

15.10.2026 17:30

Ekrem İmamoğlu made striking remarks about Ertan Yıldız in his defense in the İBB case. İmamoğlu said, "He is not an organization manager or anything, but he has troubled states. We saw his troubled states here as well. Unfortunately, he is a disappointment to me."

The 99th day of the İBB trial, with 436 defendants, 53 of whom are detained, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, is being heard by the Istanbul 33rd Heavy Penal Court at the Marmara Closed Penal Institution campus in Silivri.

Continuing his defense after the recess given to the hearing on its second day, İmamoğlu said that in the municipality during the 5-year period before them, a total of 147 inspections were carried out, and that when looking at inspections of İBB, İSKİ, İETT and subsidiaries, it would be seen that inspections carried out by Ministry of Interior inspectors and controllers rose from 115 to 1,042.  

Emphasizing that Court of Accounts audits were also striking, İmamoğlu noted the following:  

"You ask many questions about our subsidiaries; unfortunately, evaluations are being made through actions based on expert reports that we believe were prepared intentionally and in bad faith. However, while in the previous 5 years our subsidiaries underwent Court of Accounts audits 5 times, in our period this number rose to 82. Prosecutorial investigations, on the other hand, were zero in the previous period, while in our period they were carried out 26 times. Inspections of subsidiaries by inspectors from the Ministry of Trade, tax and the Ministry of Labor were also never carried out in the previous period. I tell my precious people: Zero! In our period, however, these inspections were carried out 378 times.

When we evaluate the processes in which all our institutions were audited, inspected, and various institutions conducted on-site examinations, approximately 11 times as many inspections as the 147 inspections in the previous period were carried out in our period. We never complained about this, nor did we say 'ugh' or 'oof.' You cannot see us complaining about inspections anywhere, not even in one place. Our objection was not to inspections being carried out, but to a mechanism being operated with lies and slander. Special inspection and general inspection processes are also important in this regard. We underwent two separate inspections with a large number of officials participating. So, do you know what the result was? No public loss could be detected. "

"THEY CAME AT US, NOT A SINGLE TERRORIST WAS FOUND" 

Ekrem İmamoğlu, recounting that they were subjected to inspections many times even over the most absurd matters and that a special inspection was launched about them on December 27, 2021, noted the following:

"Who came to that inspection? A person who, at many stages, signed the beginning of the process both in the official vehicle matter for which I am currently being tried here and in the tender matter in Beylikdüzü—Arif Yıldırım, who became a parliamentary candidate for the AK Party and performed a deliberate inspectorate service—conducted an inspection with 4 civil administration inspectors, a trade inspector, a Treasury Finance inspector, MASAK, and more than 50 experts, and they came at us, processes were operated, but not a single terrorist was found in our institution.  

However, by saying '557 terrorists,' more than 90 thousand people in our institution were left under suspicion. All personnel were examined, tenders were examined, business opening and operating permits were examined; we were officially subjected to an attack. In that regard, I would like to note here Soylu's later statement that 'I had said these things politically and in terms of freedom of expression,' and once again remind from here how we were subjected to deliberate attacks. "

"NOT A SINGLE PENNY OF PUBLIC LOSS WAS DETECTED"

Ekrem İmamoğlu, stating that these discussions did not remain only as the Interior Minister's discourse but were kept going for months, said: "For months, even the President at the head of this country, by speaking from the parliament's rostrum and in different squares, we were subjected to attacks with rhetoric that was truly completely outside moral elements. But let me state again, despite so many investigations, so many inspections, and certain officials deliberately sent into so many institutions, I state with pride that, through my friends here and my friends not here, not a single penny of public loss could be detected. Period."

İmamoğlu, stating that not a single public loss emerged from an institution that underwent close to 1,600 inspections, said, "This is also proof of how deliberately and how politically the prosecution, which fabricated 155 acts to try us here, prepared an indictment." Ekrem İmamoğlu spoke as follows: "Can a criminal organization come out of an administration that has not harmed the public? It cannot. Has the public treasury ever been touched? It has not. Has a single penny entered anyone's pocket from the public treasury? It has not. What is being tried here? I ask, for God's sake."

"MURAT ONGUN IS MY COMPANION ON THE ROAD" 

Repeating that what is referred to as an organization in the indictment is the organizational structure of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, İmamoğlu said that his adviser Murat Ongun is a "road companion."  

İmamoğlu recounted that Murat Ongun had previously pursued his professional life in Turkey's very deeply rooted media organizations and had held managerial positions in very important institutions. Ekrem İmamoğlu said, "Right after 2014, I frankly did not know him at all; I had expressed a search, and one of the recommendations made by my friends was Murat Ongun. We met, and we had a 10-day meeting."  

"I AM PLEASED WITH MURAT ONGUN"

Recounting that they worked together for about a month and evaluated the process together, İmamoğlu stated that he truly had a very qualified, high-quality working period with him at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and during his Beylikdüzü Mayorship. İmamoğlu said, "I am pleased with him. He is truly honest, committed to his profession, in harmony with the people he works with, but with an equally high critical side, one who puts mistakes on the table, negotiates with me to find the truth, objects, puts forward his own opinion, and with whom we managed a process through discussions. In other words, he is my colleague."

"I WATCH WITH SHAME AS FATİH KELEŞ IS SUBJECTED TO TORTURES" 

Ekrem İmamoğlu conveyed that he had known Fatih Keleş from a period going back to the early 2000s, when he had no involvement in politics at all. İmamoğlu said, "I know his family; he is a good industrialist, a good businessman, a truly very trustworthy and reputable person."  

İmamoğlu, recounting that Keleş joined the CHP at his insistence, that he has a company operating in the mining and marble sector, and that he later served as president of the İBB Sports Club, stated that Keleş did successful work. İmamoğlu said, "While my old friend, my brother, a person I have known for 25 years, has done such successful work, I watch with shame that he is subjected to the highest level of cruelty and torture, merely through the latest indictment that has come here—saying let's add Fatih there too, let's pin a crime on him from there as well."

"ERTAN YILDIZ IS A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR ME"

Stating that he met Ertan Yıldız in Beylikdüzü during the 2014-19 period and that they met rarely, İmamoğlu recounted that because Yıldız came from the business world, he gave him responsibility with the aim of contributing to the management chart. Stating that before he took office, each of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's subsidiaries was managed like a disconnected satellite, İmamoğlu noted that he said a mechanism needed to be developed by emphasizing the accountability of all 32 subsidiaries, that they are part of the institution, that society demands rights from there, and its transparency.

"AS IF THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE HAD FOUND GOLD IN A WELL, THEY MADE ADEM SOYTEKİN'S LIFE HELL" 

Ekrem İmamoğlu, recounting that he had known Adem Soytekin, one of the confessors, since 2007-2008 and knew him as a successful builder, said, "He has produced a significant amount of work, and he has also done work for the public sector. As if the prosecutor's office had found a mine, as if it had found gold in a well, saying 'What can we get out of this Adem?' they made Adem's life hell. Let me say it openly and clearly."

İmamoğlu used the statements, "There is no criminal organization here; there is the glorious, honorable Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. It has hundreds of patriotic administrators, civil servants, engineers, and drivers working with all their might. I am proud of all of them."