08.04.2026 11:51
The "Hat Gang" claimed responsibility for the attacks that set fire to the car rental company owned by Selçuk Kürkoğlu in Beşiktaş, shot at his villa, and caused approximately 100 million in damages. The gang, which continues to target Kürkoğlu, stated, "You have received the consequences of your words, and you will continue to do so."
In Beşiktaş, the car rental company owned by Selçuk Kürkoğlu (55) was set on fire by masked assailants who arrived on a motorcycle and poured gasoline on it. Following the incident, which caused damage to 14 vehicles, Kürkoğlu's villa was also shot at. No injuries were reported in the attacks, but the damage is estimated to be around 100 million lira.
ARSON AND ATTACK CAUGHT ON CAMERA On the other hand, security camera footage of the moments when the car gallery was set on fire with gasoline has emerged. The footage shows one of the two individuals wearing helmets and dressed in black pouring gasoline on the car gallery and then setting it ablaze; the vehicles are engulfed in flames. In the armed attack footage, a suspect arrives in front of the villa and opens fire with a gun after a while. The suspect then escapes on a motorcycle.
THREATENED BY PHONE In the investigations conducted by the police teams, it was learned that Selçuk Kürkoğlu was threatened by phone around noon last Sunday, and he hung up after responding to the suspects with insults, and did not file a complaint with the police afterward. Following the incident, the Gasp Bureau of the Public Order Branch started efforts to capture the suspects.
"I RESPONDED STRONGLY WHEN THEY DID" Speaking about the incident, Selçuk Kürkoğlu said, "I swear I am the president of a holding. We have cafes, restaurants, and chains in the area. Last Sunday around two-thirty or three, I received a call from a foreign number, probably from America, and I answered. As soon as I picked up, the person on the other end spoke in a threatening manner and made a direct strong entry, so I responded a bit strongly to them. I talked quite a bit to them. Then this lasted for about three or four minutes. They hung up and blocked my number. After about 15-20 minutes, they called again. They pressed No again. They didn’t answer and started messaging. Some threatening things. Then around 7-7:30 in the evening, I left the company’s restaurants. I came home. After I got home, around 3:30-4:00 AM, I received a call. It was probably a taxi driver. He said, 'Your rental cars are on fire.' We immediately left. We reached the area where the company was in 5 minutes. When we arrived, the cars were burning. About 15 cars were on fire. It could even be 17 or 18. While we were doing something about them, another call came. At that moment, our Dilek Hanım answered the phone. She said they had also shot at the house. Then we went to the area where the house was with a few cars. When we arrived, the police were already there. They had fired about 5-6 bullets at the villa. Then they started sending messages on WhatsApp. Of course, I didn’t take these too seriously," he said.
"NEARLY 100 MILLION IN DAMAGES" Kürkoğlu stated, "We don’t have a single lira to give to anyone, and we won’t give it. The police have already come. They are currently monitoring, and they can be caught at any moment. None of the cars have insurance. Some news reports suggest that the cars are insured and that we burned them. There is no insurance on the cars. There is damage related to the vehicles amounting to nearly 100 million. Let me say this, whoever threatens the owners of any business, let no one take them seriously. They should go directly to the police and file a complaint with the prosecutor's office. Our state is great. It can clean all of them in a day," he said.
"THE ONES GIVING THE ORDERS ARE NOT IN TURKEY" Kürkoğlu said, "Because those who do this are just kids. The ones giving the orders are not in Turkey. The kids doing it are 15 years old, 17 years old, as you can see from the camera recordings. They come on a motorcycle, pour gasoline, set it on fire, and escape. For example, the one who comes to shoot at the villa is also on a motorcycle; two people come, get off the bike, shoot, and escape on the same bike. It doesn’t even take a minute for them to shoot. I don’t think they are the same people. The team there is different, and the team here is different," he said.
THE "HAT-WEARERS GANG" CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ARSON While it was wondered who caused the arson that resulted in 100 million in damages, the "Hat-Wearers Gang" made a statement claiming responsibility for the incident. The gang, led by prison escapee Volkan Ramazan Ayhan, has been terrorizing tradesmen in Beyoğlu, Şişli, Eyüpsultan, and Fatih districts and denied allegations of extortion in their statement.
Here is their statement made on social media:
“Greetings to everyone, we felt the need to make a statement due to the false news about us and the accusations against us. We want to briefly explain the problem we had with a person named Selçuk; this person called us. We answered the phone with 'hello.' He said, 'You have extorted money from the entertainment venue called You Istanbul; that venue is mine.' We tried to clarify the situation by saying, 'Mr. Selçuk, there seems to be a misunderstanding; someone has used our name.' However, this person, unnecessarily showing ego and arrogance from the other end of the phone, responded with threats while cursing our sacred things. After a few minutes of arguing on the phone, we hung up. Later, when we asked around, we learned that this person spoke to everyone around him in a similar insulting and condescending manner, that he had serious moral problems, and that he was a heavy drug addict and alcoholic. We learned that he was a person who inflicted both material and moral wounds on everyone he encountered and was a deceitful tyrant. And what we want to say is; this state is great for everyone, not just for you. He continues his life as a person with 101 criminal records who can roam the streets freely and still deceive people, causing pain to the innocent. And this person portrays himself in the news as if we extorted him, playing the victim and presenting himself as a respectable businessman to the media and society."
"YOU WILL CONTINUE TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR WORDS" "We did not extort money from you, nor did we demand anything. We responded to you in a human way to resolve the situation without knowing who you were, but you responded with your ego and arrogance. You received the consequences of your words, and you will continue to do so, so don’t doubt it. No one has been able to teach you how to speak to people, how not to take away their rights, but we will teach you humanity and decency, that’s our promise."
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