Investigation into corruption at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality: Allegation of '1 villa, 4 apartments requested for construction permit'

20.04.2025 18:53

In the corruption investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, businessman Adem Kameroğlu, who gave a statement as a 'suspect', claimed that he was asked for 1 villa and 4 apartments in exchange for the permits for two separate construction projects. Kameroğlu alleged that the entire process was managed by Tuncay Yılmaz, the General Manager of İmamoğlu Construction Company.

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In the ongoing corruption investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against suspects, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from his position as the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) after his arrest, charges such as "being a 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" are being investigated.

"I PAID MY FEES BUT MY CONSTRUCTION PERMIT WAS NOT ISSUED"

Adem Kameroğlu, the chairman of the board of a private company who gave a statement to the prosecutor's office as a "suspect" in the investigation, stated, "In 2016, I applied to the Beylikdüzü Municipality to obtain zoning for my lands located on Derviş Eroğlu Street in Beylikdüzü, where the site named 'Metro Home' is currently located. I had drawn my project and paid my fees, but despite a long time passing, my construction permit was not issued."

"THE OFFICIALS TOLD ME I NEEDED TO MEET TUNCAY YILMAZ"

Kameroğlu, who explained that the project named "Pelican Hill Ihlamur Houses," which started in 2013 and is located within the borders of Büyükçekmece, was ongoing, said, "During my applications to the municipality, the municipal officials told me that I needed to meet with a person named Tuncay Yılmaz (General Manager of İmamoğlu Construction Company and a suspect in the investigation). At that time, I did not know him. I asked what we would discuss, but they did not say anything."

Kameroğlu stated that he sent his company employees to meet with Yılmaz and continued: "After the meeting, Tuncay Yılmaz said that they would select one villa in Ihlamur Houses in exchange for the construction permit I had applied for, and that my permit would be issued in return. I had to accept the offer because I feared that I would not be able to obtain my legal rights and that the municipality would create difficulties for me. During the construction process of Ihlamur Houses, Tuncay Yılmaz made extra and luxury demands that were not in the project. I fulfilled the things he wanted. I delivered the villa to them by purchasing everything they wanted, including the white goods, furniture, pool, and landscaping, which were not in the project. The refrigerator, white goods, and furniture were selected by architects from the most luxurious brands. At that time, approximately 600 thousand lira was spent. When the value of the villa was shown to be 1 million 500 thousand lira, the magnitude of the amount I spent will be understood. After the villa was completed, I transferred it to SSB Construction, owned by Ekrem İmamoğlu. Ekrem İmamoğlu and his wife Dilek İmamoğlu also came to the site to check the villa. Even Ekrem İmamoğlu's son, Selim İmamoğlu, occasionally stayed in this villa. When I transferred the villa to İmamoğlu's company, a total of 1 million 500 thousand lira was sent to the company account in installments. This money was withdrawn each time and handed over to Tuncay Yılmaz in cash."

"I HAD TO GIVE 4 APARTMENTS TO NECATİ ÖZKAN"

Kameroğlu, who claimed to have experienced a similar situation with the apartments he transferred in Metro Home, stated the following in his testimony: "In order to obtain the occupancy permit for Metro Home, Tuncay Yılmaz told me that I could get the permit in exchange for 4 apartments and directed me to a person named Necati Özkan (suspect). We made a protocol with Özkan. My construction was also about to be completed and was at the occupancy permit application stage. Knowing that they would not issue the permit if I did not meet their demands, I had to give 4 apartments to Necati Özkan and signed the protocol regarding this matter."

"I REFUNDED ALL THE SHOW MONEY THEY PAID"

Businessman Kameroğlu stated that he did not know Necati Özkan until that time but knew him by name. He mentioned that he did not take these apartments in Özkan's name, saying, "After making the protocol, on September 27, 2021, the transfer of 2 apartments located at 124 island, 3 parcel in Beylikdüzü Kavaklı was made to Öykü Reklam Hizmetleri LTD, the transfer of 1 apartment located at 125 island, 2 parcel was made to Capital Medya Hizmetler, AŞ, and on March 1, 2022, the transfer of the other apartment located on 125 island, parcel no. 2 was made to Ayşe H. For the transfer of these apartments, a total of 2 million lira was shown as a fake amount deposited into our company account. This money was later refunded to Necati Özkan by us. I refunded all the fake amounts deposited into my company accounts to them so that they would not have any problems in the future."

"ABOUT 4 MILLION OF THE MONEY WAS COLLECTED BY FATİH KELEŞ FROM OUR COMPANY IN INSTALLMENTS"

Kameroğlu stated, "At that time, Fatih Keleş (suspect and President of IMM Sports Club), who was a member of the Beylikdüzü Municipal Council, came to me and said, 'The president sends his regards, you will sponsor the Beylikdüzü Volleyball Team.' I had to accept their offer because I knew what this meant. For three years, I was the main sponsor of the Beylikdüzü Volleyball Team, but we did not make any protocol between us. Over three years, I gave nearly 12 million lira. About 4 million of this money was collected by Fatih Keleş from our company in installments, saying, 'The team has open payments.' For this reason, we handed over the money to him."

"THE KINDERGARTEN WAS PRESENTED AS BUILT BY THE MUNICIPALITY"

Adem Kameroğlu explained that the kindergarten named "Şehit Öğretmen Aybüke Yalçın" in Beylikdüzü was built for him.

Pointing out that the construction process of this school coincided with the "Metro Home" construction permit acquisition process, Kameroğlu stated, "I accepted their offers because I was worried about not being able to obtain a permit. As a result, I had the school built, and it serves the public, but my name was never mentioned during or after the construction. They made it seem like the school was built by Ekrem İmamoğlu, that is, the municipality."

Kameroğlu, who claimed that during the period when the "Metro Home" project was being built, he was forced to give approximately 40 acres of land to the municipality, said, "The transfers of this land had been made earlier, but when I applied for the construction permit, they asked me to give this 40 acres to the municipality. They made a second transfer. If I wanted, I could have sold this 40 acres to someone else and built the same construction on the remaining land, but I knew they would make it difficult for me. That's why I accepted their offers. The 40 acres I had to give did not provide me with any advantage. They conditioned this to grant me a permit. The 40 acres I gave to the municipality is currently worth approximately 35 thousand dollars."

"SWIFTLY TRANSITIONED FROM SUBCONTRACTING TO OWNERSHIP"

Kameroğlu stated that Tuncay Yılmaz encouraged the project managers to give the rough work of the construction to the suspicious businessman Adem Soytekin in the investigation, expressing: "I knew that Adem Soytekin had a good relationship with the municipality. He was in close contact with Ekrem İmamoğlu. Thanks to this close relationship, he was given the rough work of some constructions in the region. He swiftly transitioned from subcontracting to ownership. During the sale of the apartments in Metro Home, they wanted me to sell apartments at a high discount for the people they directed. I had to reduce the price of some apartments by half. Most contractors working in the region have experienced what I went through. No one willingly gives their money or properties. The municipality abused its resources and authorities in this way, forcing people like me who do business to meet their demands. Therefore, I am a victim of the events I described. I have not been involved in construction for a long time. I last saw Ekrem İmamoğlu at a ceremony in 2019. Since that date, I have had no contact with him. I am currently not someone who is doing business."