26.03.2026 20:14
In the 11th hearing of the 'corruption' case against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), Murat Keleş, the nephew of IBB Sports Club President Fatih Keleş, made a defense statement. Keleş argued that four members of his family are in custody and that family ties are being portrayed as if they are organizational ties, stating, "I am not a member of any organization and I do not accept the accusations. The allegation of my membership in an organization is based solely on statements made within the scope of effective remorse; there is not a single concrete piece of evidence beyond this."
In the 'corruption' case against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), 407 defendants, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been suspended from his duties, appeared before the judge in the third week of the trial, with 107 of them being detained.
During the 11th hearing, Murat Keleş, the nephew of IMM Sports Club President Fatih Keleş, made a defense statement. In his defense, Murat Keleş stated, "On March 23, 2025, my uncle Fatih Keleş, then on May 20, 2025, my father Zafer Keleş, and later on June 19-20, my cousin Mustafa Keleş and I were arrested. Throughout the prosecution phase, the focus of the questions was particularly on my uncle Fatih Keleş. The reason for my summons to the prosecutor seemed as if I was called only to talk about him. During my statement, no concrete accusations were directed at me, and it felt as if I was summoned to testify against my uncle. Towards the end of my statement, the prosecutor said, 'You have no crime; clearly, you are unaware of something,' which led me to believe that the reason for my detention and arrest was to get me to say something about my uncle. It seemed that what was said outside was not considered sufficient, and I thought that someone from the family was also expected to give negative statements about my uncle. Later, we were referred to the court for arrest by the prosecutor's request and were detained. What is interesting here is that I was quite surprised by the judge's arrest decision, which stated 'suspicions of escape and evidence tampering.' I objected as much as I could; because my uncle was detained on March 19, I went to work at IMM on March 19. He was arrested on March 23, and I went to work again on March 24. Then, on May 20, my father was arrested, and I went to work the next day again. So, since I was not anxious about anything and did not do anything wrong, I continued to go to work; however, it was written that there were suspicions of escape and evidence tampering. After my uncle or father was arrested, I made no effort to meet anyone, nor did I have any attempts. As I said, I was not involved in any illegal activities. I have never witnessed my uncle Fatih Keleş, my father Zafer Keleş, or my cousin Mustafa Keleş being involved in any illegal activities. As someone who knows them closely, I do not believe they are involved in the crimes as alleged," he expressed.
Fatih Keleş "OUR FAMILY TIES HAVE BEEN PRESENTED AS ORGANIZATIONAL CONNECTIONS" Keleş stated, "Due to my uncle being the President of IMM Sports Club; I assisted in the translation of texts prepared for international sports competitions, Olympic organizations, contacts made in foreign languages, and events to be held abroad. After all, he was my uncle, and as his nephew, I supported him in the context of the municipality's official affairs. My statement to the prosecutor also reflects this when I said, 'I was sometimes with my uncle, I assisted him.' This is what I meant. Because the official work and meetings that needed to be conducted at IMM, where I was hired after official applications and interviews, are being used to request my punishment for membership in an organization. Let alone being part of a criminal organization, I have never even been a member of any political party or association in my life. I do not even support a football team. When the part of the indictment claiming that I am a member of an organization was written, it was stated as if it were a crime that my uncle is Fatih Keleş and my father is Zafer Keleş. Our family ties have been portrayed as if they were organizational ties. In fact, when they started writing about me, they began with 'Fatih's nephew, Zafer's son.' The fact that I have spoken on the phone with my father and uncle has been attempted to be portrayed as if we were communicating as part of organizational activities. The fact that my father is my father and my uncle is my uncle has been made evidence of a crime. I understand from this indictment that I have been arrested because I am the nephew of Fatih Keleş and the son of Zafer Keleş. It is impossible to accept this," he said.
"I AM NOT A MEMBER OF AN ORGANIZATION" Murat Keleş stated, "In the sixth section of the indictment, it was mentioned that I had phone contact with some people along with my uncle and father. Leaving aside whether I remember the names listed, I would not recognize some of them even if I saw them physically. There are even people whose names I cannot recall when I look at them. The list includes the personal assistants of the mayor and municipal employees; however, it is not specified whether the alleged phone contacts are HTS or base, nor is the closeness or the number and time of these contacts mentioned. While I do not remember the conversations I had with these people, I am sure that if there were any, these conversations during working hours lasted only 1-2 minutes. Among these names are my father Zafer Keleş and my uncle Fatih Keleş. I find it difficult to understand how a person's family conversations, calling his own father and uncle, can be portrayed as organizationally significant. Another excuse has been found for the fact that my conversations were with few people; it is said that 'he talks to few people because he values organizational secrecy.' There is no organization here, nor am I a member of any organization. An organization that does not exist has no concern for secrecy. I am just a person who goes to work on my motorcycle, has nothing to hide, and is simply a worker. Because I live in such simplicity, nothing has been found. If nothing can be found, then it has been written in the indictment that 'he works very secretly.' With such logic, I have been detained for 10 months," he said.
"I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY TOGETHER, LET ALONE RECEIVING MONEY" Keleş stated, "I have never spoken to Ahmet Sarı on the phone, I do not know his number, I do not know his private life. I do not know what he does; I have had no meetings with him in a restaurant or anywhere else. He claimed to have delivered money to my uncle 17 times and alleged that it was received by my father or me at the municipal buildings in Florya or Bakırköy. This is a lie. I have only encountered him during the times I was with my uncle for the reasons I mentioned at the beginning of my statement, and I have seen him briefly. Moreover, this is not another area; these are public municipal institutions. I have never received any money from him, nor have I delivered money to anyone, including my uncle. I should ask Ahmet Sarı this in court, Mr. President, have I ever received anything from him, let alone money; any gift, a chocolate, a pen, or even a needle? I would like to ask this to Ahmet Sarı because I can answer it clearly. I have not received anything from him. Perhaps my only contact has been a handshake. Let alone receiving money from Ahmet Sarı and delivering it to someone, I have never seen such amounts of money in my life, nor is it possible for me to do so," he said.