07.05.2025 15:10
Mehmet İlhan Gülay, a member of the Executive Board of Gülaylar Altın, was arrested after being summoned to the Istanbul Courthouse to give a statement as part of the investigation into İBB. In his statement, Gülay denied the allegations that he had bribed officials for an increase in zoning rights for his properties in Ataşehir. He stated that the initial discussions on the matter took place during the presidency of Mevlüt Uysal, prior to the 2019 elections.
While investigations into financial allegations against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) continue, Mehmet İlhan Gülay, a member of the Executive Board of Gülaylar Altın, who was invited to testify at the Istanbul Courthouse yesterday and questioned within the scope of a confidential witness's returns, was arrested by the Peace Criminal Court.
"I SIGNED A PROTOCOL DURING MEVLÜT UYSAL'S TERM"
In his statement given at the Organized Crimes Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, İlhan Gülay stated, "I purchased the land located in the 1046 parcel of the İçerenköy neighborhood of Ataşehir district in Istanbul from a holding named Bainbridge in 2018. At the time of purchase, there were many lawsuits with IMM regarding the metro exit and İSPARK construction related to the land due to cancellation procedures. After we acquired the land, we discussed these matters with the existing municipal administration at that time, and I signed a protocol with the relevant institutions of IMM in exchange for dropping the lawsuits and transferring approximately 60 acres of the land to IMM under the presidency of IMM Mayor Mevlüt Uysal," it was learned.
"WE INCLUDED CONSTRUCTING A MOSQUE IN THE AGREEMENT"
Gülay, explaining that efforts to resolve disputes continued after the change of administration in the 2019 elections, stated:
"During the process, we waived the lawsuits, and in return, the IMM Council's Urban Planning and Public Works Urban Renewal Commission changed the zoning status of the land with a decision dated 12.01.2023. However, although this zoning status was increased from 0.75 to 1.5, the zoning status for surrounding and neighboring parcels is 2.07. Additionally, at the time this decision was made, I cannot recall the exact date, an additional protocol was signed stating that 4-5 thousand square meters of closed area from the construction to be built on this land would be transferred to the municipality upon completion. While the total area of the parcels is 228,022 square meters, we transferred approximately 60,000 square meters to the municipality. Furthermore, at the request of Tevfik Göksu, who was the group vice president at that time, we included the construction of a mosque within the agreement for this parcel and our own land. This matter has also been added to the planning note."
DENIED BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS
It was also learned that Gülay denied the bribery allegations mentioned in the confidential witness's statement, saying, "We have not been able to obtain any zoning permit for the mentioned land. Moreover, there is a zoning difference between us and the surrounding parcels that is unfavorable to us. Again, Adnan Zeki Bostan, whose name is mentioned as the president in the commission decision allowing the zoning increase, is currently the AK Party IMM Group Vice President; Mehmet Yiğit is the Deputy Mayor of Sultangazi." It was recorded that Gülay's lawyer summarized and supported his client's statements as follows:
"Our client is a victim. As clearly seen in the documents, the mentioned zoning status was given less while it was more, and the condition of separating a mosque site within the titled land has caused serious harm, not benefit, to our client's company. This alone proves that our client's bribery allegation is not true in any way, and it is documented otherwise. As can be seen from the title deed we have submitted, the mentioned property was purchased in 2018, and during the AK Party mayoralty period that existed at that time, it was verbally determined how it would be constructed, and within the framework of this agreement, zoning note changes were made by AK Party municipal council members, and the transactions were completed in this way. There have been no transactions made by the suspects subject to the current investigation that are in favor of our client."