05.04.2025 14:50
In the corruption investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), CHP member T.E. testified as a witness. T.E. claimed that a bribe of 10 million dollars was given to the municipality regarding illegal structures in the villas located in Vaniköy, where the leader of a criminal organization, Adnan Oktar, also resided for a period. In his statement, T.E. alleged that the money taken abroad was transported to the border using a funeral vehicle.
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Evidence has been obtained from T.E., a member of the CHP, who testified as a witness in the corruption investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM).
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is conducting a corruption investigation against Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from the position of IMM President, and 99 suspects for crimes including "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." In his testimony as a witness, T.E. stated that he is a member of the CHP and claimed that bribes were given to the municipality regarding illegal structures in the villas in Vaniköy, where the leader of a criminal organization, Adnan Oktar, once resided and which has been a topic of discussion due to the demolition of illegal buildings.
T.E. stated the following in his testimony:
"The name of E.K., the Director of the IMM Boğaziçi Planning Department, also came up in the illegal villa incident in Vaniköy. In this case, nearly 10 million dollars in bribes were given to the municipality. The job was brought to E.K. by a person named S.A., who was the former district chairman of Eyüpsultan. Later, the cemetery director A.K. and Zeytinburnu mayoral candidate O.S. got involved. 30 million lira was given to S.A. S.A. bought himself a luxury model car. 5 million lira was given to A.K. I heard that the remaining money was deposited by O.S. in the name of his father-in-law at a bank in Athens. They transported the money to the border using the municipality's funeral vehicle. When the incident came to light and the building was demolished, I heard that the Russians started to pressure E.K. Later, I learned that S.A. was appointed as a consultant to İmar AŞ."
THE ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION IN VANIKÖY WAS DEMOLISHED BY MINISTRY TEAMS
Following a tip-off regarding the illegal structures in Üsküdar Vaniköy mentioned by witness T.E., teams from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change went to the area on August 22, 2024, to conduct an inspection. It was determined that the unauthorized construction had started with the permission of the IMM, and the construction was subsequently halted. In the report prepared by the teams, it was stated that all construction activities in the area, where physical intervention had been made to the natural ground and vegetation, were stopped.
It was understood that the area where the structure is located previously belonged to organized crime leader Adnan Oktar and was recently purchased by a Russian businessman.
The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change had filed a criminal complaint regarding the unauthorized construction. The provincial teams demolished the structures in the area where construction activities were found to be in violation of legal regulations and were halted in September 2024.
THE ACQUISITION OF THE CHP ISTANBUL PROVINCIAL BUILDING
Witness T.E. stated that he wanted to provide information about the acquisition process of the CHP Istanbul Provincial building, which has also been reflected in the public. T.E. claimed that the building in question belongs to a company named Gül İnşaat, which is a partner of Ekrem İmamoğlu, and alleged that the money deposited in the "Put a brick too" donation campaign was 600-700 thousand lira, and that the collected funds were laundered through the company agreed upon for the renovation of the building.
"THEY EXCHANGED BAGS FULL OF MONEY FROM CURRENCY EXCHANGE OFFICES IN LALELI"
Continuing his testimony, T.E. mentioned that B.A., a member of the CHP Party Council, is a close associate of Ekrem İmamoğlu, stating, "During the congress period, they handled the money distribution with Ö.N. On the second day of the congress, when a money crisis occurred, they exchanged bags full of money from currency exchange offices in Laleli, Istanbul. Some delegates were given money, mobile phones, and promises of apartments from KİPTAŞ. For this reason, the party council election was held late at night."
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