20.03.2025 11:10
The statements of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and 86 other suspects who were detained as part of an operation related to corruption and terrorism charges have begun to be taken. İmamoğlu started giving his statement 28 hours after being detained.
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The investigation into the allegations of terrorism, corruption, and bribery against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) is ongoing.
A total of 106 suspects are found in two separate files where accusations of collaborating with the PKK, placing members of the terrorist organization in jobs, corruption, and bribery are directed. It was reported that IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was detained yesterday morning, is being held at the Istanbul Police Department, and so far, 87 people have been detained as part of the operation. It has been learned that teams are still working to capture 19 suspects who are still at large.
INTERROGATION PROCESS HAS STARTED
Following the detention orders, the interrogation process for 87 suspects, including IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu, IMM Presidential Advisor Murat Ongun, Beylikdüzü Mayor Murat Çalık, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, and singer Ercan Saatçi, who were brought to the Istanbul Police Department's Vatan Campus, began 28 hours later.
NEWS FROM İMAMOĞLU
While İmamoğlu's procedures at the police continue, Erinç Sağkan, President of the Turkish Bar Association, described his meeting with detained IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu. Sağkan, who stated that Bar Association Presidents would come together to evaluate the situation and that he came to Istanbul for this purpose, announced that he also visited İmamoğlu during his visit. Sağkan said, "I just met with Mr. Ekrem. His statement has not yet been taken. I saw that his morale and health are good." He also mentioned that İmamoğlu repeated his statements of 'I entrust myself to my nation.'
HIS COMPANY HAS BEEN SEIZED
As part of the investigation, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office seized İmamoğlu Construction Trade and Industry Inc., in which Ekrem İmamoğlu is a partner, upon the request of the prosecutor's office, with a decision from the peace criminal court based on MASAK reports. Ali Nuhoğlu, the Chairman of the Board of Nuhoğlu Construction, against whom a detention order was issued, was detained after taking 40 million TL from his factory.
FIRST FOOTAGE HAS ARRIVED
The first footage of Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is detained at the Istanbul Police Department, has arrived. It was seen that Ekrem İmamoğlu was walking with two police officers from the Financial Branch at the courthouse. İmamoğlu waved to a citizen who called out to him.
HERE ARE THE 7 ACCUSATIONS AGAINST İMAMOĞLU AND THE SUSPECTS
- Being the leader of a criminal organization
- Being a member of a criminal organization
- Extortion
- Bribery
- Qualified fraud
- Illegally obtaining personal data
- Interfering with a tender
CHIEF PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE: LEADER OF A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION
The accusations against İmamoğlu and 105 individuals were detailed one by one in a written statement from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. It was stated that witnesses who testified in the investigation regarding the 'money counting' footage in the CHP claimed that "IMM President İmamoğlu and many others forced businessmen to give money, that they gained unfair profits by collaborating with some businessmen, and that they laundered the money obtained from the crime by making transactions through pawn individuals using what is referred to as 'secret cash'." The statement also expressed that "the investigation was initiated as a result of a report prepared by the Ministry of Interior Inspectors regarding irregularities in tenders, service procurements, and collusive contracts made by IMM and its affiliated companies."
ACTING AS A TEAM
The statement noted that İmamoğlu is the leader of the criminal organization, and it was recorded that he appointed individuals who had been with him since his tenure as the Mayor of Beylikdüzü to the heads of the units and affiliates of the Metropolitan Municipality after he became the IMM President. It was alleged that the suspects, who established their own infrastructures to ensure the continuation of the criminal organization, committed the crimes of "Interfering with a tender," "Qualified fraud," "Illegally obtaining personal data," "Bribery," and "Extortion" in an organized manner through irregular tenders in many municipal affiliates.
MEDIA INC. AND CULTURE INC.
In the prosecutor's statement, it was stated that "The organization members, through companies they established in their own names and those of their SGK-registered employees, submitted high-priced offers for the qualified jobs of the Metropolitan Municipality affiliates, Media Inc. and Culture Inc., thereby obtaining jobs at prices far above their actual worth, many of which they did not complete, and some of which were fictitious, and that they laundered the money obtained through issuing fake invoices for their personal enrichment as well as for the activities of the criminal organization."
MONEY TO THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
It was alleged that the organization members who won tenders from Media Inc., Culture Inc., KİPTAŞ, and ISFALT transferred money to İmamoğlu's construction projects or made goods transfers to their companies with the first advance payments they received from the municipality.
In summary, it was stated: "It has been understood that money obtained through threats was subsequently paid, that bribes were demanded from many active businesses, and that attempts were made to forcibly collect money from victims who did not accept this through decisions taken from municipal councils. The properties obtained by the suspects through the crimes of 'Bribery' and 'Extortion' were found to be registered under the names of businessmen used as the organization's cash box, as determined by MASAK reports, tax expert examinations, witness statements, and other evidence. In this context, simultaneous capture, detention, search, and seizure operations have been instructed by the Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Unit against the suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been identified as the leader of the criminal organization, and the suspects Murat Ongun, Tuncay Yılmaz, Fatih Keleş, Ertan Yıldız, who hold managerial positions in the organization, and 100 suspects connected to these individuals for the crimes of 'Being the leader of a criminal organization,' 'Being a member of a criminal organization,' 'Extortion,' 'Bribery,' 'Qualified fraud,' 'Illegally obtaining personal data,' and 'Interfering with a tender.'
2ND INVESTIGATION: 'HELPING TERRORISM THROUGH 'CITY CONSENSUS'
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated in its announcement regarding the other investigation that it has been determined that IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu made an alliance with the terrorist organization's umbrella structure, the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK), based on the "City Consensus" for local elections, and that this was announced by media affiliated with the terrorist organization. It was explained that investigations against HDK members are still ongoing in many provinces, especially in Istanbul.
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According to the information and documents obtained within the scope of the investigation, it is stated that İmamoğlu, İBB Deputy Secretary General Mahir Polat, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, Reform Institute President Mehmet Ali Çalışkan, fugitive suspect A. B. who is said to have been involved in the ideological structuring of the PKK/KCK terrorist organization, and H. A., who was identified in relation to the transfer of personnel to the rural area of the terrorist organization in 2018, along with Şişli Deputy Mayor Ebru Özdemir, participated in the "Urban Consensus" in collaboration.
The statement continued: "Considering that suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu, along with other suspects, was involved in determining the municipal council member lists with his approval during the local elections, it is understood that they committed the crime of aiding the PKK/KCK terrorist organization by knowingly participating in the 'Urban Consensus' activity, which aims to increase the effectiveness of the terrorist organization in the metropolises as expressed by the management of the terrorist organization. Therefore, simultaneous capture, detention, search, and seizure operations have been instructed to the Istanbul Police Department's Counter-Terrorism Branch regarding the aforementioned 7 suspects."
WHO IS IN THE FILE
The names of those against whom detention orders have been issued within the scope of the "criminal organization" investigation are as follows:
1- Ekrem İmamoğlu,
2- Murat Ongun,
3- Murat Çalık,
4- Tuncay Yılmaz,
5- Fatih Keleş,
6- Emrah Bağdatlı,
7- Mustafa Nihat Sütlaş,
8- Murat Kapki,
9- Orçun Muhittin Yılmaz
10- Hüseyin Köksal,
11- Adem Soytekin,
12- Ali Nuhoğlu,
13- Ertan Yıldız,
14- Ali Gül,
15- Zafer Gül,
16- Serdal Taşkın,
17- Barış Kılıç,
18- Servet Yıldırım,
19- Mehmet Erdoğan,
20- Güldem Işık,
21- Ceyda Kıryak,
22- Kadir Öztürk,
23- Ömür Yılmaz,
24- Merthan Açıl,
25- Tolga Özgen,
26- Erhan Uslu,
27- Hakan Atınç Dayıgil,
28- Murat Kanbur,
29- Emre Serkan Bayraktar,
30- Vahit Doğan,
31- Fatoş Ayık,
32- Hüseyin Ekrem Fidan,
33- Seda Hoşel Kiraz,
34- Sergen Kurt,
35- Yusuf Yüce,
36- Ercan Saatçi,
37- Mehmet Muhittin Palazoğlu,
38- Furkan Remzi Ceylan,
39- Süleyman Atik,
40- Hakan Karanis,
41- Elif Güven,
42- Nihat Uçan,
43- Birsen Şahin,
44- Canan Mümüklü,
45- Can Akın Çağlar,
46- Cemal Ufuk Karakaya
47- Buğra Gökçe,
48- Kağan Sürmegöz,
49- Bayram Taşkın,
50- Ebru Yılmazlar,
51- Gürkan Akgün,
52- Murat Abbas,
53- Doğan Hamit Doğruer,
54- Halit Burak Atalan,
55- Bilal Önver,
56- İlker Durademir,
57- İpek Elif Atayman,
58- İlknur Taşdelen,
59- Burak Arslan,
60- Samih Asan
61- Emrah Öksüz,
62- Onur Buğra Subaşı,
63- Eyüp Subaşı,
64- Gülşah Subaşı,
65- Ahmet Köksal,
66- Serhat Kapki,
67- Yusuf İlbak,
68- Ali İlbak,
69- Murat İlbak,
70- Mustafa İlbak,
71- Umut Şenol,
72- Mete Sarısaltun,
73- Edip Cenk Ünalerzen,
74- İrfan Karakaş,
75- İnan Boztaş,
76- Ahmet Taha Bilgin,
77- Kamil Timur Delibaş,
78- Alihan Aydın,
79- Alper Aydın
80- Alperen Aydın,
81- Ahmet Palazoğlu,
82- Kaan Ketenci,
83- Ahmet Hamdi Çiçek,
84- Hacı Ahmet Gül,
85- Serkan Öztürk,
86- Necati Özkan,
87- Kabil Taşçı,
88- Vedat Şahin,
89- Serdar Haydanlı,
90- Yaşar Çeri,
91- Emin Ferhat Ertek,
92- Harun Cengiz Beğenmez,
93- Hasan Öçsoy
94- Ahmet Çiçek,
95- Adem Tuncay,
96- Rauf Cem Istıranca,
97- Ömer Gürsoy,
98- Uğurhan Atma,
99- Özge Bağdatlı,
100- Fatoş Pınar Türker
URBAN CONSENSUS
Within the scope of the 'Urban Consensus' investigation, the names of those against whom detention orders have been issued are as follows:
1- Ekrem İmamoğlu,
2- Mahir Polat,
3- Resul Ekrem Şahan,
4- Mehmet Ali Çalışkan,
5- Ebru Özdemir,
6- Spectrum House owner Azad Barış,
7- Spectrum House employee Hunav Altun.
87 PEOPLE DETAINED
It has been announced that 87 people have been detained in both investigations. Arrest warrants have been issued for the remaining individuals. In the following hours, Serdar Haydanlı was released.
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