19.03.2025 15:30
As part of the operation initiated by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, a detention order has been issued for Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and 105 other individuals. The prosecution has made seven separate charges against the suspects in two different investigations. It was also reported that İmamoğlu, who underwent a health check, has begun giving his statement.
In the investigations regarding the "money counting footage" and "City Consensus" directed at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, an arrest warrant was issued for İBB President Ekrem İmamoğlu and 106 others.
As part of the investigation, 84 people, including names such as Murat Ongun, Tuncay Yılmaz, Fatih Keleş, Ertan Yıldız, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, İBB Deputy Secretary General Mahir Polat, and Reform Institute President Mehmet Ali Çalışkan, were detained. The detained suspects were taken to the Istanbul Police Department after health checks.
Efforts are ongoing to capture 22 individuals as part of the operation.
ŞİŞLİ AND BEYLİKDÜZÜ MAYORS ALSO DETAINED
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office reported that 84 individuals have been detained, and procedures are ongoing for 22 suspects.
In the operation, in addition to İmamoğlu, 84 suspects were detained, including İBB President Advisor Murat Ongun, Beylikdüzü Mayor Murat Çalık, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, and singer Ercan Saatçi.
HERE ARE THE 7 CHARGES AGAINST İMAMOĞLU AND THE SUSPECTS
1. Being the leader of a criminal organization
2. Being a member of a criminal organization
3. Extortion
4. Bribery
5. Qualified fraud
6. Illegally obtaining personal data
7. Tampering with a tender
İMAMOĞLU IS GIVING A STATEMENT
İmamoğlu, who was detained in the early hours of the morning, was taken to the Istanbul Police Department on Vatan Avenue. It was learned that the health check of Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is a suspect in both operations, was conducted at the police station. It was reported that the procedures for the detained individuals at the police station have begun.
INVESTIGATION STARTED WITH "MONEY COUNTING" FOOTAGE
In a written statement from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was reported that an investigation was initiated based on the statements of witnesses who testified regarding the "money counting" footage in the CHP, stating that "Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor İmamoğlu and many individuals forced businessmen to give money, gained unfair profits by collaborating with some businessmen, and laundered the money obtained from the crime by using 'secret cash' referred to as civilian individuals for money transfers and collections."
İMAMOĞLU IS THE LEADER OF A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION
In the investigation, it was noted that İmamoğlu is the leader of a criminal organization, and it was stated that individuals who were with him during his tenure as the Mayor of Beylikdüzü were appointed to the heads of the units and subsidiaries of the Metropolitan Municipality after he became İBB President. It was reported that suspects who created their own sub-structures to ensure the continuation of the criminal organization committed the crimes of "tampering with a tender," "qualified fraud," "illegally obtaining personal data," "bribery," and "extortion" in an organized manner through irregular tenders in many municipal subsidiaries.
The statement included, "It has been determined that the organization members, through companies established in their names and those of their SGK-registered employees, submitted high-priced bids for the service procurement works of the Metropolitan Municipality subsidiaries such as Medya AŞ and Kültür AŞ, thereby obtaining jobs at prices far above their actual worth, many of which were not completed, and some of which were fictitious works, and that they laundered the money obtained through the issuance of fake invoices for personal enrichment as well as for the activities of the criminal organization."
THEY TRANSFERRED MONEY THROUGH İBB SUBSIDIARIES
The statement noted that the suspects illegally obtained the personal data of citizens living in Istanbul and used it for the continuity of the organization, and it was understood that the organization members who won tenders from Medya AŞ, Kültür AŞ, KİPTAŞ, and İSFALT transferred money to İmamoğlu's construction projects or made material transfers to their companies with the initial advance payments they received from the municipality.
It was stated that it was determined that the payments to businessmen who won jobs as a result of open tenders from the Metropolitan Municipality were not made, and it continued as follows:
"It was understood that money obtained through threats was subsequently paid, and that bribes were demanded from many active businesses, and that those who did not accept were forcibly extorted through decisions taken from the municipal councils. It was determined through MASAK reports, tax expert examinations, witness statements, and other evidence that the properties obtained through the crimes of 'bribery' and 'extortion' were registered in the names of businessmen used as the organization's cash box."
In this context, a total of 100 suspects, including the suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu, identified as the leader of the criminal organization, and suspects Murat Ongun, Tuncay Yılmaz, Fatih Keleş, Ertan Yıldız, and 95 other suspects connected to them, were subject to simultaneous capture, detention, search, and seizure operations 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 "tampering with a tender," with instructions given to the Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Unit."
ARREST WARRANT FROM TERRORISM INVESTIGATION
In a statement from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was reported that in relation to the "city consensus" activity implemented by the PKK/KCK terrorist organization to increase its activities in metropolitan cities, especially in Istanbul, during the local elections held on March 31, 2024, the terrorist organization's leaders Cemil Bayık and Mustafa Karasu conveyed their views and instructions to the terrorist organization through media affiliated with the organization before the elections.
It was stated in the announcement that it was determined that İBB President Ekrem İmamoğlu made an alliance with the terrorist organization's umbrella structure, the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK), based on "city consensus" for the Istanbul local elections, and that simultaneous capture and detention operations were carried out against HDK members in many provinces, especially in Istanbul, and that investigations are still ongoing.
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In the statement, it was noted that some of the municipal council members selected from the CHP quota and the appointed deputy mayors of the municipality were found to have connections with terrorist organizations. The statement included the following expressions:
"Just a few days before the local elections on March 31, 2024, it was reported that they registered as members of the CHP, and it was determined that a total of 10 individuals, including the deputy mayors of Ataşehir and Kartal and 8 İBB council members, were mentioned in the HDK data and were detained and arrested as part of our investigations due to their identification as members of the organization. In addition to these individuals, 8 municipal council members were arrested based on other connections to the terrorist organization outside of the HDK. It is understood that a total of 18 members of the council affiliated with the terrorist organization have been arrested as described so far, and investigations into the remaining suspects are ongoing."
According to the information and documents obtained within the scope of the investigation, İBB President Ekrem İmamoğlu, İBB Deputy Secretary General Mahir Polat, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, Reform Institute President Mehmet Ali Çalışkan, and fugitive suspect A. B, who was identified as being active in the ideological field organization of the PKK/KCK terrorist organization, along with H. A, an employee of Spectrum House owned by A. B, who was found to have facilitated the transfer of personnel to the rural area of the terrorist organization in 2018, and Şişli Deputy Mayor Ebru Özdemir were stated to have participated in the "urban reconciliation" activities.
It was also stated that members/sympathizers of the terrorist organization were hired within the İBB subsidiary Istanbul Planning Agency and BİMTAŞ:
"Considering that suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu, along with other suspects, determined the lists of municipal council members with his approval in the local elections, it is understood that they committed the crime of aiding the PKK/KCK terrorist organization by knowingly participating in the 'urban reconciliation' activity aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the terrorist organization in the metropolises, as expressed by the management of the terrorist organization. A simultaneous order was given to the Istanbul Police Department's Counter-Terrorism Branch for the execution of capture, detention, search, and seizure operations against the aforementioned 7 suspects."
84 SUSPECTS DETAINED
Operations aimed at capturing the suspects have been initiated by the security forces following the detention orders.
In the operation, 84 suspects, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, İBB President Advisor Murat Ongun, Beylikdüzü Mayor Murat Çalık, Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan, and singer Ercan Saatçi, were detained.
Efforts to capture 22 suspects are still ongoing.
The detained suspects were brought to the Istanbul Police Department's Vatan Campus for processing after a health check.
HERE ARE THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO WERE GIVEN DETENTION ORDERS
According to the report obtained regarding the statements of witnesses who testified in the investigation concerning the "money counting" footage in the CHP, it is stated that "İBB President İmamoğlu and many others forced businessmen to give money, gained unfair profits by acting with some businessmen, and laundered the money obtained from the crime by using civilian individuals referred to as 'secret cash' in the transfer and collection of money." The investigation initiated after this report is ongoing.
The names of those who have been given detention orders in the investigation are as follows:
"Ekrem İmamoğlu, Murat Ongun, Murat Çalık, Tuncay Yılmaz, Fatih Keleş, Emrah Bağdatlı, Mustafa Nihat Sütlaş, Murat Kapki, Orçun Muhittin Yılmaz, Hüseyin Köksal, Adem Soytekin, Ali Nuhoğlu, Ertan Yıldız, Ali Gül, Zafer Gül, Serdal Taşkın, Barış Kılıç, Servet Yıldırım, Mehmet Erdoğan, Güldem Işık, Ceyda Kıryak, Kadir Öztürk, Ömür Yılmaz, Merthan Açıl, Tolga Özgen, Erhan Uslu, Hakan Atınç Dayıgil, Murat Kanbur, Emre Serkan Bayraktar, Vahit Doğan, Fatoş Ayık, Hüseyin Ekrem Fidan, Seda Hoşel Kiraz, Sergen Kurt, Yusuf Yüce, Ercan Saatçi, Mehmet Muhittin Palazoğlu, Furkan Remzi Ceylan, Süleyman Atik, Hakan Karanis, Elif Güven, Nihat Uçan, Birsen Şahin, Canan Mümüklü, Can Akın Çağlar, Cemal Ufuk Karakaya, Buğra Gökçe, Kağan Sürmegöz, Bayram Taşkın, Ebru Yılmazlar, Gürkan Akgün, Murat Abbas, Doğan Hamit Doğruer, Halit Burak Atalan, Bilal Önver, İlker Durademir, İpek Elif Atayman, İlknur Taşdelen, Burak Arslan, Samih Asan, Emrah Öksüz, Onur Buğra Subaşı, Eyüp Subaşı, Gülşah Subaşı, Ahmet Köksal, Serhat Kapki, Yusuf İlbak, Ali İlbak, Murat İlbak, Mustafa İlbak, Umut Şenol, Mete Sarısaltun, Edip Cenk Ünalerzen, İrfan Karakaş, İnan Boztaş, Ahmet Taha Bilgin, Kamil Timur Delibaş, Alihan Aydın, Alper Aydın, Alperen Aydın, Ahmet Palazoğlu, Kaan Ketenci, Ahmet Hamdi Çiçek, Hacı Ahmet Gül, Serkan Öztürk, Necati Özkan, Kabil Taşçı, Vedat Şahin, Serdar Haydanlı, Yaşar Çeri, Emin Ferhat Ertek, Harun Cengiz Beğenmez, Hasan Öçsoy, Ahmet Çiçek, Adem Tuncay, Rauf Cem Istıranca, Ömer Gürsoy, Uğurhan Atma, Özge Bağdatlı, Fatoş Pınar Türker."
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