The person referred to as "Kasa," Ertan Yıldız, has become a whistleblower, and what he has revealed will put İmamoğlu in a difficult position.

17.05.2025 14:18

Ertan Yıldız, known as the treasurer of Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested in the corruption investigation at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), gave a statement to the prosecutor to benefit from effective remorse. Yıldız stated in his testimony that İmamoğlu warned many İBB bureaucrats 7-8 months before the operation, saying, "We are being listened to, be careful," and he made claims that could change the course of the case.

The Chairman of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Council's Participation/Related Organizations Commission, Ertan Yıldız, was arrested for allegedly demanding 5 million Euros in "bribes" from the owners of a shopping mall in Bakırköy.

"TO REVEAL THE TRUTH."

He was brought to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office from Kandıra Prison last week. To be released by benefiting from the provisions of "effective remorse," he gave a statement to the prosecutor saying, "I will tell what I know" within the scope of the IMM "financial crimes" investigation. In his statement, Yıldız mentioned the municipal subsidiaries and explained who was responsible for which subsidiaries. Yıldız claimed that a system was established and that he was excluded for not keeping up with this system, stating, "I will do my best to reveal the truth in the upcoming process." However, he could not be released by benefiting from the provisions of "effective remorse."

Highlights from Ertan Yıldız's statement, known as İmamoğlu's cash register, regarding his testimony to the prosecutor to benefit from the "effective remorse" provisions are as follows:

• Ekrem İmamoğlu personally monitored the entire financial system and would question individuals working on his behalf one by one.
• These individuals would occasionally do small jobs in their own names, and Ekrem İmamoğlu would turn a blind eye to this.
• Zafer Keleş, the brother of Fatih Keleş, was responsible for the collection of payments on behalf of Fatih Keleş. Payments made on behalf of Ekrem İmamoğlu were also collected by Fatih Keleş.
• This money was generally brought to the former presidential residence in Florya, which Fatih Keleş used as an office.
• About 7-8 months before the operation, Ekrem İmamoğlu warned many IMM bureaucrats that we were being listened to and followed, and that we needed to be careful.
• I know that he often printed books before tenders were announced or orders were placed.
• The last metro tender being conducted by Kalyon Construction was actually designed for another company from the beginning, and the price offers for which company would be determined.
• It was even rumored that Fatih Keleş had agreed with this company on a 7% commission.
• However, a day before the tender, a person had notarized which company would buy at what price, and this document was leaked to the press as a result of the tender. Consequently, this tender was abruptly canceled, and Kalyon Construction received the new tender.
• In the tender for the 49-acre land in Istanbul Valley belonging to IETT, Ekrem İmamoğlu first told Adem Soytekin that he could get the job here and that he should be given a chance.
• The firm named Invest Yatırım, owned by Bahattin Uçar, won the tender. Adem Soytekin threatened Bahattin Bey by saying that he wanted to partner in this construction, otherwise his job at IMM would not proceed. Bahattin Uçar called me to convey this situation.
• During Ayhan Koç's tenure as the Head of the Cemetery Department, he sold closed cemetery areas to create a fund for his mayoral candidacy, conducting these sales himself and through intermediaries.
• I have explained everything I know to your Chief Public Prosecutor's Office with full transparency. I will do my best to reveal the truth in the upcoming process.

The long version of Ertan Yıldız's statement:

"The processes related to tenders were under the general managers and management levels of the relevant subsidiaries. In the first year, I gathered the companies. I turned around the companies that were in loss. We restructured and paid the tax and insurance debts of 14 companies that had tax and insurance debts. Up to this point, we had no problems. From the end of the first year, although it did not come directly from Ekrem İmamoğlu, Fatih Keleş came to me on behalf of Ekrem İmamoğlu and urged me to give tenders to certain companies. Most of these companies, as far as I remember, were from Beylikdüzü. I repeatedly told Fatih Keleş that I did not have the authority in these tenders and that these matters were under the purview of the relevant subsidiaries, and that the companies could enter the tender and win the jobs. I know that many subsidiary managers were also reluctant towards Fatih Keleş on these matters and did not want to get involved in these jobs. Due to my stance, I felt that a different structure began to be formed after a while. I sensed that there were contacts through Fatih Keleş involving Ekrem İmamoğlu. When they could not fully obtain what they wanted through the subsidiaries, they started to give more work through construction departments like the IMM's Public Works and Road Maintenance Departments. They began to give small and medium-sized jobs to companies close to them. In these tenders, subsidiary companies were given less work, and jobs began to be given to companies from Beylikdüzü that they already knew, such as Özyurt Construction and firms owned by Adem Soytekin. The reason for this was my unwillingness to fulfill their requests in the subsidiaries. However, they did not have companies for large jobs. Ekrem İmamoğlu also tried to involve me in these financial matters. However, he did not directly express such a statement."

"WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH AN ANNUAL RESOURCE OF 150 MILLION DOLLARS"

"As far as I remember, in the summer of 2022, Fatih Keleş called me and said that we should go to Adnan Çebi, the owner of a company named Makyol. This meeting was arranged without me and an appointment was made. We went to see Adnan Çebi together with Fatih Keleş. Fatih Keleş said to Adnan Çebi, 'We want to work with you more. We want to do our big projects with you. In return, we may have some requests from you.' Adnan Çebi replied that he would discuss it with his partners and get back to us. Fatih Keleş conveyed to Adnan Çebi that he could discuss these matters with himself, me, and Arif Gürkan Alpay. After leaving the hotel, I told Fatih Keleş that I would not be involved in financial matters and that he should not include me in such matters, and I did not meet with Adnan Çebi again regarding IMM-related business. Shortly after this meeting, when we encountered Metin Güneş, the owner of Metgün, he told me, 'We are working very well with IMM; we currently have 33 construction sites, and we will provide you with an annual resource of 150 million dollars.' This person had previously put the IMM under foreclosure because they were going to take it over under Ekrem İmamoğlu's presidency. Considering the processes that this company experienced with IMM, the fact that they are getting so much work does not seem to align with the natural course of business, and I do not know what they are receiving in return. Fatih Keleş was conducting high-level negotiations with these companies.

"İMAMOĞLU'S SECRET PARTNER IN THE FOUNDRY"

"Since I was in the upper management of IMM, I saw different types of structures. The area of construction was the Cebeci excavation area. Fatih Keleş was one of the legs of this structure. Fatih Keleş, İbrahim Bülbüllü, and Murat Gülibrahimoğlu were controlling the flow of hot money coming from the Cebeci foundry areas. This operation began with the excavation area permits being granted to companies owned by Murat Gülibrahimoğlu through Fatih Keleş, primarily the company named Kuzey İstanbul.

This Cebeci area is actually composed of stone quarries and is operated by two companies, South Cebeci and North Cebeci. In these areas, which have been operated by these companies for many years, huge filling areas of millions of cubic meters have been created. The filling area permit through the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) has been granted to the companies of Murat Gülibrahimoğlu. As far as I remember, since 2022, this area has been designated as the dumping and excavation area for all of Istanbul. The excavation going here constitutes about 70% of all excavation in Istanbul. The annual turnover of this area is around 150-200 million dollars. This money should have been managed by the subsidiary named İSTAÇ, which is responsible for these operations, but a serious public loss has occurred as the municipality's subsidiary was bypassed, and the money that should have entered the municipal treasury went into the pocket of an individual. This company has issued unofficial receipts alongside official ones, thus engaging in double receipt practices and transferring some of the incoming money outside with fake invoices. Another issue in this regard is that the municipal council has continuously increased excavation dumping prices, allowing Murat Gülibrahimoğlu to earn very high profits. I believe that there are funds sent abroad from official accounts. Some of this money belongs to Ekrem İmamoğlu. This individual has held meetings with Ekrem İmamoğlu through Fatih Keleş and obtained these permits. Ekrem İmamoğlu is an unofficial equal partner in the operations in the dumping area. I met with Murat Gülibrahimoğlu two or three times, and during these meetings, I argued with him about his desire to use municipal subsidiaries while wanting to take a large portion of the income for himself. This individual has also exerted reckless pressure on the İstaç management regarding these matters. Despite my repeated warnings to Ekrem İmamoğlu that Murat Gülibrahimoğlu was harming the municipality and needed to be removed, he continued with the operations. I was told to stay out of these matters. After this incident, I was somewhat sidelined from İstaç.

"ISFALT SHARES WERE TO BE SOLD BELOW VALUE"

"The second operation carried out in Cebeci is the stone and gravel operation. As a result of this operation, Murat Gülibrahimoğlu has taken control of the stone market, becoming the most important actor by stopping stone production at certain times to increase stone prices. He has also engaged in black market activities in this way. Half of this money has gone to Ekrem İmamoğlu through Fatih Keleş, with whom he conducted the operation. I heard that in this operation, Murat Gülibrahimoğlu threatened the owners of the other companies in the management of South Cebeci and North Cebeci to buy their shares. At the same time, he wanted to buy the shares of İsfalt in North Cebeci and South Cebeci below their value. In this regard, Fatih Keleş pressured the İsfalt management and tried to convince me about it. Ekrem İmamoğlu also stated that he approved the sale. I told them that you cannot explain this sale to the public; it is wrong both politically and economically. As a result of this warning, Ekrem İmamoğlu had to abandon the sale. Ekrem İmamoğlu has repeatedly stated that Murat Gülibrahimoğlu is a very skilled and talented person and that he should be given opportunities. One day, in a meeting attended by many municipal bureaucrats, Ekrem İmamoğlu said that the stone quarries around Eyüp were located within the city and that they needed to be removed. His aim here was to render all the stone quarries non-functional, thus ensuring Murat Gülibrahimoğlu's complete monopoly. İbrahim Bülbüllü was managing the financial control and management of this operation on behalf of Fatih Keleş. The partnership between Fatih Keleş and Arif Gürkan Alpay has been ongoing since Beylikdüzü. It will also be revealed through investigations that İbrahim Bülbüllü, Fatih Keleş, Arif Gürkan Alpay, and Murat Gülibrahimoğlu have taken many international trips by private jet. When allegations of operations began to emerge towards the end of 2024, I heard that money was being demanded from this individual due to concerns that Murat Gülibrahimoğlu would escape with the money he had obtained. However, I heard that Murat Gülibrahimoğlu did not give a large portion of the money. In fact, around March 2025, he fled abroad. I heard he was in London. I suspect he has a significant amount of money in London, half of which belongs to Ekrem İmamoğlu. I estimate this money to be several hundred million dollars. As a result of these operations, the municipality and thus the public have suffered serious losses.

"20 MILLION DOLLARS RECEIVED FROM MANDARIN HOTEL, 7 MILLION DOLLARS FROM SIX SENSES HOTEL"

"The second major unofficial financial source in İBB is, in my view, Boğaziçi. This structure is controlled through Fatih Keleş. The official counterpart is Boğaziçi Planning Director Elçin Karaoğlu. The unofficial side is Yakup Öner. All structures that want to apply for a mold and renovation in my view must apply to Boğaziçi Planning. Unauthorized constructions are not allowed through the municipal police department, and many constructions are halted, forcing them to obtain permission from Boğaziçi Planning. Individuals applying to Boğaziçi Planning are directed either to Fatih Keleş or Yakup Öner, and again at Boğaziçi Planning, they are directed to architects whose names I do not know, who are affiliated with Fatih Keleş and Yakup Öner. The fundamental control of these operations was carried out by Yakup Öner. As a result of these operations, he was directly reporting to Fatih Keleş and Ekrem İmamoğlu. Following meetings with the relevant companies, Yakup Öner would discuss the feasibility of the work with Elçin, and based on these findings, the amounts or requests to be made from individuals would generally be determined with Fatih Keleş and sometimes with Ekrem İmamoğlu. The identified amounts or requests would be realized as a result of reaching out to the applicants. There have also been instances where Ekrem İmamoğlu directly instructed Elçin on certain jobs. This was a very closed area. However, I heard that 20 million dollars were received from the Mandarin Hotel and 7 million dollars from the Six Senses Hotel. Again, during the last meeting regarding the sale of the police school, Zafer Bey, one of the owners of the structure, said to the president that he would make renovations in a villa in my view and that nothing should be requested from this renovation. The president did not respond in the meeting, but when he left, he said to me, 'What a rude man, he mixes this job with that job.' As far as I heard, Yakup Öner has also been in contact regarding this villa.

THE OPERATION OF SUBSIDIARIES AND THEIR AUTHORITIES

"The infrastructure works of İBB's Department of Science Affairs on the Asian side were generally given to a firm I remember as AYAPI instead of İston. Again, in the last asphalt tender, while only asphalt production works were given to İsfalt, all asphalt laying works were distributed to three or four firms from outside. In asphalt work, the laying work is the profitable part, not the production. By giving these profitable jobs to companies, the municipality has given up on serious profits and thus created a public loss. Again, the plant purchasing and planting works of Ağaç A. Ş. were reduced and given to outside firms instead of the subsidiary.

One other area is Media Culture and Communication. This area was organized by Ekrem İmamoğlu, Murat Ongun, Serdar Taşkın, and Fatih Keleş in the early months of the municipality. This area is completely closed circuit, and I had no involvement whatsoever. After a while, as a result of a dispute between Murat Ongun and Fatih Keleş, the president intervened, and this area was completely handed over to Murat Ongun. I do not know exactly what a person named Emrah Bağdatlı does, but I always saw him next to Murat Ongun, and whenever I went to the communication tent, I would see him there. As I said, this area was under the management of Murat Ongun. From what I know, Murat Ongun organized the Digital Experience Museum project. Here, the cost of the project was inflated through inflated invoices, causing significant public damage. I heard that part of this difference was taken in cash, part of it was used to purchase furniture for the Communication Office, and part of it was also taken by company executives. There is also a Court of Accounts report regarding this incident. This is the concrete event I remember at this stage. Bimtaş was also a company I did not deal with. The chairman of the board was Emrah Şahan. Emrah Şahan, who should not have been an executive, directly intervened in the management and formed a group of companies by personally selecting subcontractors. Many irregularities were carried out through these companies. When Mahir Polat became the Deputy Secretary General, the Project Study Department of İBB was attached to him. From that moment on, he also passive-ized Bimtaş and started working through the companies in Bimtaş. Another issue related to Mahir Polat is the restoration works under the Department of Cultural Heritage. This is also a very closed area, and it was worked with companies determined by Mahir Polat. When examined by your Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, findings will be made.

"CENGİZ ÖZKARABEKİR WOULD TAKE THE TENDER HIMSELF"

"As far as I remember, İbrahim Bülbüllü announced that in a truck tender that İstaç had held in 2023, after the prepared specifications were published, bids were collected, and the Bilginay company became the first as a result of the tender. As a result of the inquiry made by İstaç, the company that won the tender stated that it would provide vehicles in accordance with the tender conditions. Upon this, İbrahim Bülbüllü came to İstaç General Manager Gökmen Togay and said that this company would not provide vehicles in accordance with the specifications and that if this was ignored, he would receive money. İstaç Management did not accept this, and the Bilginay Company withdrew from the tender. A while later, Ziya Gökmen Togay told me about this incident. Another issue is book printing works. Normally, the Cultural Affairs Department plans the book printing works, and Kültür A. Ş. would take the job and print it by tendering in the market. Cengiz Özkarabekir would determine the tender specifications through the employees within Kültür A. Ş. and take the tender himself. I know that many times he printed the books before the tender was announced or the order was placed. Both the Cultural Affairs Department and the Management of Kültür A. Ş. were complaining about this. This was reflected to the Secretary General and through the Secretary General to the President. The President's attitude on these matters was to work with Cengiz Özkarabekir and solve the problems.

"İMAMOĞLU SAID WE WERE BEING LISTENED TO AND FOLLOWED"

"During Ayhan Koç's term as the Head of the Cemeteries Department, he made sales of closed cemetery areas to create a fund for his mayoral candidacy, and these sales were carried out by him and intermediaries. This incident was heard by many people from İBB, and as a result, he was not reappointed to the same position. Zafer Keleş, who is the brother of Fatih Keleş, was doing the collection work on behalf of Fatih Keleş. Collections made on behalf of Ekrem İmamoğlu were also collected by Fatih Keleş. This money was generally brought to the old presidential residence in Florya, which Fatih Keleş used as an office. About 7-8 months before the operation, Ekrem İmamoğlu told many İBB bureaucrats that we were being listened to and followed, and that we needed to be careful. Ekrem İmamoğlu personally monitored the entire financial system, and he would question individuals working on his behalf one by one. These individuals would sometimes do small jobs in their own names, and Ekrem İmamoğlu would turn a blind eye to this.

"I DID NOT ASK FOR BRIBES FROM CAPACITY AVM"

"I have no involvement in the allegation that I requested a bribe from Capacity AVM. However, the incident in question was that Bakırköy Deputy Mayor Ali Rıza Akyüz told me that the load-bearing walls were cut, making the building earthquake risky, and that parking lots were canceled and shops were built instead. He said that he wanted to introduce me to these individuals and brought the representatives of Capacity AVM, Architect Sefer Kocabaş and Mehmet İplikçioğlu, to me. These individuals explained the situation to me. I told them that this was a technical issue and that it needed to be determined whether there was an earthquake risk and that strengthening was necessary. They told me that there was no static problem and that everything was fine. When I said that human life was at stake, one of them said, 'We will handle it somehow.' I then raised my voice, saying that human life was at stake and that nothing else could be considered. A while after this meeting, an official meeting was held with the mayor and many municipal managers. I called Süleyman Atik to this meeting. The reason I called him was that he had technical knowledge on zoning issues. The idea of requesting a static report and acting according to that report emerged in the meeting, and it was concluded that this problem should be solved with the relevant company. Ali Rıza and Süleyman Atik were authorized to meet with the AVM representatives. As far as I heard, there were a few meetings between them. Ali Rıza and Süleyman Atik had a few meetings, but I do not know the content of those meetings. When I asked Ali Rıza, he said that they could not reach an agreement with the individuals and that they had obtained a report from the university, and that they would act according to that report. He said that they would issue a notification and carry out the sealing process as a procedure. No monetary penalty was mentioned. I learned that a penalty was imposed by the municipality after a stay of execution decision was made for the sealing process. I have no involvement in these processes. I do not know who wanted what regarding what. However, I did not request any benefits and did not send anyone for this request. I have no authority in Bakırköy Municipality.

"I DID NOT GET INVOLVED IN THE SYSTEM, I WAS EXCLUDED"

"I did not get involved in the system mentioned above. I faced a lot of pressure due to my efforts to manage the subsidiaries properly. I tried to ensure the proper management of the subsidiaries within my authority and power. There may have been irregular transactions in the subsidiaries without my knowledge, but they could not carry them out through me. The most obvious example of this is that many jobs that should have been given to the subsidiaries were given to other companies.

When I took office, I had many rooms, but over time the areas I used were taken away from me. After a while, Ekrem İmamoğlu even stopped responding to the messages I sent. My relationship with Fatih Keleş was also very tense due to his inappropriate demands. This issue is known by everyone. On several occasions, I thought about resigning, but I continued in my position as a result of the persuasion from the managers in the partnership that there would be a lot of pressure on them if I left. In the summer of 2023, I went to meet with Ekrem İmamoğlu and informed him that I would not be part of the new term. He told me that he would not say anything about this matter, but that he could establish a new system. When I told him that my name was mentioned for the Bakırköy Municipality Presidency, he said to me, 'That would be too little for you.' About a month after this meeting, he told me that he wanted to make me a member of the Bakırköy Municipal Council. The reason for this was to keep me under control. As a result of his serious insistence on this matter, I had to accept. He has assigned people who do not fit his mindset to positions where he can control them by removing them from their duties. If I had been the manager of this structure as mentioned, I would have been assigned to a different position in the last elections, and our relationship would have continued closely. I officially resigned on November 30, 2023. After this, it is unacceptable for my name to even be mentioned in the allegations and findings under the İBB. I explained everything I know to your Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in full transparency. In the following process, I will do my utmost to ensure that the truth comes to light.