12.04.2026 09:31
As part of the corruption investigation against the Üsküdar Municipality, the statements of the informant Ahmet İşman, who benefited from remorse, and the contractor Engin Araz have emerged. Ahmet İşman, who stated that he wanted to explain the "bribery mechanism," noted that payments were made in foreign currency due to the physical bulk of the Turkish lira. İşman said, "The construction would not progress until the bribe was received," while Araz expressed that they could not obtain occupancy permits without paying money.
The statements of two suspects who wanted to benefit from effective remorse in the investigation by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the Üsküdar Municipality have emerged. The statements of the business follower Ahmet İşman and the contractor Engin Araz revealed that the licensing and occupancy processes in the municipality did not progress without payment. It was learned from the statements that Nazım Akkoyunlu was the "shadow president," that money traffic was conducted through Alperen Uçar, and that some payments were made in cash as foreign currency.
"THE DECISION WAS WITH NAZIM"
It was noteworthy that Ahmet İşman, who benefited from effective remorse, and contractor Engin Araz described the same structure in their statements.
In his statement to the prosecutor's office, Ahmet İşman claimed that he wanted to explain the "bribery mechanism" in the Üsküdar Municipality, asserting that the real power in the municipality was concentrated in Nazım Akkoyunlu after the elections. According to İşman, although Akkoyunlu was not officially the deputy mayor, he was known by that title in the municipality and had the final say in zoning, licensing, and building control processes.
Contractor Engin Araz also painted a similar picture in his statement. Araz explained that Filiz Deveci was the signatory in the municipality, but the real decision-maker was Nazım Akkoyunlu, who he heard was specifically sent from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. He stated that no transaction was carried out without Nazım's approval and that the amounts to be collected were determined by him, as he heard from business follower Ahmet İşman.
BRIBERY AMOUNTS WERE DETERMINED IN WEEKLY MEETINGS
According to the system described by Ahmet İşman; regular meetings were held under the presidency of Nazım Akkoyunlu, attended by Building Control Director Alperen, Ege Akkoyunlu, and Hakan Yavuz. İşman stated that in these meetings, it was decided how much money would be requested from contractors or business followers based on the level of ongoing projects.
İşman claimed that no transaction progressed without the requested money being paid. According to İşman's statement; Money was usually collected in cash, and Alperen Uçar was responsible for the collection. İşman said that before Alperen, this task was performed by Mevlüt Güray, and he knew that the collected money was delivered to Nazım Akkoyunlu.
ENGİN ARAZ: WE PAID 3.5 MILLION TL AND 40 THOUSAND DOLLARS
One of the most striking parts of the file was Engin Araz's account regarding his own construction. Araz stated that he built a four-block construction on parcels 56, 59, 62, and 65 of 863 island in the Çengelköy-Küçüksu area, that he obtained the license in the previous period, but faced significant difficulties during the occupancy stage.
According to Araz's account, the 80% building inspection approval was delayed for various reasons. He later heard that a separate tariff was created for each neighborhood in the new period in the municipality. Araz stated that business follower Ahmet İşman told him that the municipality side was asking for a large amount of money, and it was agreed to pay 3 million 500 thousand TL and 40 thousand US dollars after negotiations.
Araz said they put the 3.5 million lira withdrawn from the company account into a bag and gave it to Ahmet İşman, and that they delivered the 40 thousand dollars in the same way about 15 days later. He expressed that after these payments, the occupancy permits for the blocks were gradually issued.
AHMET İŞMAN: I TOOK THE MONEY AND DELIVERED IT TO ALPEREN
Ahmet İşman explained that he was the person who personally delivered the money in some incidents and conveyed it to the municipality side. He stated that he went to Alperen Uçar's house to hand over the foreign currency equivalent of the 3.5 million lira he received from Özkan Sinan Binali. In another incident, he recounted that he also took the foreign currency equivalent of 1 million 250 thousand lira and delivered it to Alperen in the municipality.
SPORTS CLUB ACCOUNT ALSO IN THE STATEMENTS
Another noteworthy point in Ahmet İşman's account to the prosecutor's office was the 900 thousand lira said to have been deposited into the Üsküdar Municipality Sports Club account. İşman stated that Alperen told him that 900 thousand lira needed to be deposited into the Sports Club account for the reduction of the penalty and the occupancy permit for a construction on parcels 24 and 26 of 1038 island.
According to İşman's statement; when the person who was supposed to deposit the money directly could not do so, the money was sent to his own account, and he transferred it to the Sports Club from his account. This section became one of the important details showing that the payment methods in the file were not limited to cash delivery.
“BRIBERY MONEY WAS GIVEN IN DOLLARS OR EUROS”
Ahmet İşman stated that in some payments, the money given to him was first converted to dollars or euros because "Turkish lira takes up too much space."
ALLEGATION OF DELAY AND PRESSURE ON CONTRACTORS
Both statements suggest that the process in the municipality was not only about money requests but also turned into a serious pressure mechanism. Ahmet İşman expressed that when the building inspection levels were not approved, the firms could not receive their entitlements, and therefore the salaries of the employees were also delayed, and the municipality was aware of this, which is why it deliberately prolonged the process to pressure the contractors.
Engin Araz similarly explained that he had to pay penalty fees to landowners every month for not receiving occupancy permits. The defense attorney stated that this amount reached approximately 500 thousand lira per month. Araz said that due to this pressure, he had to accept the demands placed before him.
TAPE RECORDINGS AND CORRESPONDENCES ALSO IN THE FILE
Ahmet İşman clarified some tape recordings that were read to him in the prosecutor's office. He stated that the recordings dated February 13 and February 17, 2026, were related to the file that explained that 900 thousand lira was sent to the Sports Club. He noted that the recordings dated March 2 and March 9, 2026, were related to another money delivery incident.
Engin Araz also mentioned that there might be correspondences with Alperen Uçar on these matters on his phone. Thus, it was seen that not only verbal accounts but also phone recordings and digital communication data held significant places in the file.
The effective remorse statements of Ahmet İşman and Engin Araz revealed a detailed picture of the decision-making structure, money collection method, payment channels, interconnections between names, and pressure mechanisms in the Üsküdar Municipality.
The most striking point was that two separate suspects described the same system from different positions. One spoke from the inside as a business follower, while the other described the same mechanism from the outside as a contractor but as a party directly subjected to pressure. Therefore, the file continues to be a topic of discussion not only for individual money exchange allegations but also for an organized setup linked to licensing and occupancy processes.