17.05.2025 08:51
In the corruption investigation, Ertan Yıldız, the Chairman of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Council's Participation and Affiliated Organizations Commission, became a whistleblower to benefit from effective remorse. In his statement, Yıldız indicated that the tenders at IMM were awarded to companies close to İmamoğlu and other individuals, causing financial harm to the municipality. Yıldız, who claimed that there was a system within IMM, stated that he faced pressure for not conforming to the system.
On March 21, Ertan Yıldız, advisor to Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was detained and arrested as part of the corruption investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), applied for a petition to benefit from 'effective remorse'.
EFFECTIVE REMORSE STATEMENT NOT FOUND SUFFICIENT In the corruption investigation against IMM, Yıldız, who was arrested on the allegation of demanding a bribe of 5 million Euros from the Capacity shopping mall located in Bakırköy, was not found sufficient in his effective remorse statement. After his statement, Yıldız was sent to Kandıra Prison, where he was held.
CONFESSIONS ATTRACTED ATTENTION Last week, Yıldız, who was brought from Kandıra Prison to Istanbul, stated in his testimony to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office that the tenders at IMM were awarded to companies close to İmamoğlu and other individuals, thus causing harm to the municipality. Yıldız also confessed that there was a system within IMM.
I MET İMAMOĞLU IN 2019 According to a report by T24, Yıldız stated that he met İmamoğlu in 2019, saying, "When Ekrem İmamoğlu won the election in 2019, we started working together. He appointed me as the official advisor to the president. Initially, it was unclear which areas I would be responsible for. Along with a team of about 15-20 people, including Resul Emrah Şahan, Hasan Akgün, Mehmet Murat Çalık, Yiğit Özduman, Murat Ongun, and Yavuz Erkut, we worked on the corporate staff and official employment status of IMM. Approximately in September-October 2019, as things started to improve at IMM, Ekrem İmamoğlu said he would make me the responsible chief advisor in IMM subsidiaries to utilize my experiences and expertise in company management. I accepted, stating that company management was my area of expertise. The reason for my acceptance was purely idealistic, to serve the country."
"I HAVE NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN FINANCIAL MATTERS" Yıldız stated that he was told that Murat Ongun would be involved with the subsidiary companies Medya A. Ş and Kültür A. Ş, and that Resul Emrah Şahan would also be involved, and he should not concern himself with these matters. "During the process I worked, I started to focus on the subsidiaries under my responsibility, improving management quality, solving existing problems, and increasing the performance of companies, and in this context, I began to present reports to Ekrem İmamoğlu. Throughout my work, I have had no involvement in the tenders and financial matters of these subsidiaries. I do not have signing authority. The processes related to tenders were under the general managers and management levels of the relevant subsidiaries," he said.
Ekrem İmamoğlu - Ertan Yıldız "THEY GAVE SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED JOBS TO COMPANIES CLOSE TO THEM" Yıldız claimed that from the end of the first year, he was advised by Fatih Keleş to have some firms awarded tenders on behalf of Ekrem İmamoğlu, and he used the following statements:
"Most of these firms, as far as I remember, were companies originating from Beylikdüzü. I repeatedly told Fatih Keleş that I had no authority in the mentioned tenders and that these matters were under the responsibility of the relevant subsidiaries, and that companies could enter the tender and win the jobs. I know that many subsidiary managers were also reluctant to engage in these matters against Fatih Keleş and did not want to get involved. Due to my stance, I felt that a different structure was starting 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 began to give more work through construction departments like the Directorate of Science Affairs and Road Maintenance within IMM. They started to give small and medium-sized jobs to companies close to them. In these tenders, less work was given to subsidiary companies, and jobs began to be awarded to companies like Özyurt İnşaat and firms owned by Adem Soytekin, which I remember were also from Beylikdüzü. The reason for this was my unwillingness to fulfill their requests in the subsidiaries. However, they did not have companies for large jobs."
"I WILL NOT BE INVOLVED IN FINANCIAL MATTERS" Yıldız claimed that in the summer of 2022, Fatih Keleş called him and said that they needed to meet with Adnan Çebi, the owner of a company named Makyol, and he stated:
"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 jobs with you, and in return, we may have some requests from you.' Adnan Çebi replied, 'I will discuss with my partners and get back to you.' 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, 'I will not be involved in financial matters, do not include me in such jobs, you handle it yourselves,' and I did not meet with Adnan Çebi regarding IMM-related business matters again.
After this meeting, Yıldız stated that Metin Güneş, the owner of Met-Gün, told him when they met, "We are working very well with IMM, we currently have 33 construction sites, and we will provide you with 150 million dollars annually as partners," adding, "This person had previously put IMM under seizure because they were going to take it under the presidency of Ekrem İmamoğlu. Considering the processes that this company experienced with IMM, the fact that they are getting this much work is not in line with the natural course of business, and I do not know what they received in return. Fatih Keleş was conducting high-level negotiations with these companies," he said.
"MONEY THAT SHOULD ENTER THE MUNICIPALITY'S COFFERS HAS ENTERED A PERSON'S POCKET" Yıldız, stating that he saw different types of structures because he was in the upper management of IMM, said in his statement:
"The area of restructuring is the Cebeci excavation area; one leg of this structure was Fatih Keleş. Fatih Keleş, İbrahim Bülbüllü, and Murat Gülibrahimoğlu were controlling the hot money coming from the Cebeci dumping sites. This operation started with the excavation area permits being given through Fatih Keleş to the companies owned by Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, primarily the company named Kuzey İstanbul. This Cebeci area actually consists of quarries and was 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.
İBB has granted permission for landfill areas to the companies of Murat Gülibrahimoğlu. As far as I remember, since 2022, this place has been designated as the dumping and excavation area for all of Istanbul. The excavation going here accounts for approximately 70% of all excavation in Istanbul. The annual turnover here 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 an individual's pocket. This company has issued unofficial receipts alongside official ones, thus engaging in double invoicing and transferring some of the incoming money abroad with fake invoices. Another issue in this matter is that the municipal council has continuously increased excavation dumping prices, allowing Murat Gülibrahimoğlu to earn very high profits.
"EKREM İMAMOĞLU IS AN UNOFFICIAL PARTNER IN THE DUMPING AREA OPERATIONS" "I believe that there are funds sent abroad from official accounts," Yıldız said, continuing his statement:
"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. In these meetings, I argued with him because he wanted to use municipal subsidiaries but wanted to take a large portion of the income for himself. This individual has also exerted reckless pressure on the management of İSTAÇ 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, 'Don't get involved in these matters.' After this incident, I was somewhat sidelined from İSTAÇ. The second operation conducted 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 player, and at certain times halted stone production 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 the operations he conducted together with Fatih Keleş. In this operation, I heard that Murat Gülibrahimoğlu threatened the owners of other companies involved in the management of firms named South Cebeci and North Cebeci to buy their shares. At the same time, he wanted to buy the shares of ISFALT in North Cebeci and South Cebeci below their value. In this regard, Fatih Keleş pressured the management of ISFALT and tried to convince me as well. Ekrem İmamoğlu also stated that he approved the sale. I said, '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."
"THE MUNICIPALITY HAS SUFFERED A VERY SERIOUS LOSS" Yıldız, who claimed that Ekrem İmamoğlu has repeatedly said that Murat Gülibrahimoğlu is a very skilled and talented person and that he should be given opportunities, stated:
"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, 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 has been ongoing since Beylikdüzü. İbrahim Bülbüllü, Fatih Keleş, Arif Gürkan Alpay, and Murat Gülibrahimoğlu have had many overseas trips by private jet, which will also be revealed through investigations. When allegations of operations began to emerge towards the end of 2024, I heard that money was being requested 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. By March 2025, he had already fled abroad. I heard he was in London. I suspect he has a significant amount of money in London, and I estimate that half of this money belongs to Ekrem İmamoğlu. This money is estimated to be several hundred million dollars. As a result of these operations, the municipality has suffered a very serious loss."
THE SECOND FINANCING SOURCE OF THE STRUCTURE: THE BOSPHORUS PREVIEW AREA Yıldız, who claimed that the second major unofficial financing source of the structure in İBB is in the Bosphorus Preview area, said:
"This structure is controlled through Fatih Keleş. The official counterpart is the Bosphorus Planning Director Elçin Karaoğlu. The unofficial side is Yakup Öner. All structures that want to make renovations while remaining in the preview must apply to Bosphorus Planning. The Municipal Police Department does not allow illegal constructions, and many constructions are halted, forcing them to obtain permission from Bosphorus Planning. Individuals applying to Bosphorus Planning are directed either to Fatih Keleş or Yakup Öner. Again, at Bosphorus 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 reported directly to Fatih Keleş and Ekrem İmamoğlu. Following meetings with the relevant firms, 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, either with Fatih Keleş or sometimes with Ekrem İmamoğlu. The identified amounts or requests would be communicated to the applicants, and the planning work would be carried out upon fulfilling these requests. There have been instances where Ekrem İmamoğlu directly instructed Elçin on certain projects."
"I HEARD THAT 27 MILLION DOLLARS WERE RECEIVED FROM TWO HOTELS" 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 Sense Hotel. Again, Zafer Bey, one of the owners of the structure, said in the last meeting regarding the sale of the police school that he would make renovations in a villa in the Bosphorus Preview area and requested that nothing be asked 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 had contacts within this villa."
HE POINTED OUT TO THE COURT OF ACCOUNTS REPORT Yıldız stated that the infrastructure works of the İBB's Department of Science Affairs on the Asian side were generally given to a firm named A-Yapı instead of İSTON A.Ş, saying, "In the last asphalt tender, while only the asphalt production work was given to ISFALT, all asphalt laying works were distributed to three or four firms from outside."
The asphalt laying work in the asphalt industry is the profitable part, not the asphalt production. By awarding these profitable jobs to companies, the municipality has given up on serious profits and has created a public loss in this way. Again, instead of giving the plant procurement and planting works of Ağaç A. Ş. to its subsidiary, they have been given to external firms. Another 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 have had no involvement in it. After a while, as a result of a dispute between Murat Ongun and Fatih Keleş, the president intervened, and this area was completely left to Murat Ongun. I do not know exactly what a person named Emrah Bağdatlı does, but I have seen him constantly next to Murat Ongun and at the communication tent when I went there. As I said, this area was under the management of Murat Ongun. From concrete events I know, Murat Ongun organized the Digital Experience Museum project. Here, the cost of the work was inflated through inflated invoices, creating a serious public loss. I heard that part of this difference was taken in cash, part was used to buy furniture for the communication office under the table, and part was 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," he said.
Yıldız, who also made accusations against Bimtaş A. Ş., said, "The Chairman of the Board, Emrah Şahan, intervened directly in the management when he should not have been an executive, especially forming a group of companies by selecting subcontractors himself. Many irregularities have been 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 started to work through the companies in Bimtaş by making Bimtaş passive," he said.
"WHEN THE DOCUMENT LEAKED, THE METRO TENDER WAS REDONE" Yıldız stated the following in his testimony:
"Another issue is the restoration works under the Department of Cultural Heritage. This is also a very closed area, and it has been worked with companies determined by Mahir Polat. When examined by your Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the findings will be made. As far as I remember, İbrahim Bülbüllü, in a truck tender that İSTAÇ 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 Department plans the book printing works, and the job is taken by Kültür A. Ş. and printed through market tenders. Cengiz Özkarabekir would determine the tender specifications through employees within Kültür A. Ş. and would take the tender himself. I know that many times he printed books before the tender was announced or orders were placed.
Both the Cultural Department and the management of Kültür A. Ş. were complaining about this issue. This was being conveyed to the Secretary General and through the Secretary General to the president. The president's attitude on these matters was, 'Work with Cengiz Özkarabekir, solve the problems.' It was said that the last metro tender being carried out by Kalyon İnşaat was actually designed for another company from the very beginning, and it was discussed which company would be given which price offers. 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 take it at what price, and this document was leaked to the press as a result of the tender. Consequently, this tender was hastily canceled, and the new tender was awarded to Kalyon İnşaat, completely closing the subject of the previous tender.
In the tender for the 49-acre land in Istanbul Valley belonging to İETT, Ekrem İmamoğlu first told Adem Soytekin that he could take the job here and that he should be given a chance. Both Ali Kurt and I conveyed that this job could not be given to someone like Adem Soytekin, that he would be insufficient, and that qualified construction firms should take it as a result of the tender. Upon this, the president could not insist on us. As a result of the tender, many large companies participated, and the firm belonging to Bahattin Uçar named İnvest Yatırım won the tender. Following the tender, Adem Soytekin went to Mr. Bahattin and threatened him by saying that he wanted to do this construction jointly, otherwise his job at İBB would not proceed. Bahattin Uçar called me to inform me about this situation.
During Ayhan Koç's tenure as the Head of the Cemetery Department, he made sales of closed cemetery areas to create a fund for his mayoral candidacy, conducting these sales himself and through intermediaries. This incident was heard by many people at İBB, and as a result, he was not reappointed to the same position.
"İMAMOĞLU SAID WE WERE BEING LISTENED" "Zafer Keleş, the brother of Fatih Keleş, was doing the collection work on behalf of Fatih Keleş. Keleş stated, "The collections made on behalf of Ekrem İmamoğlu were also being collected by Fatih Keleş," and continued:
"This money was generally being brought to the old presidential residence in Florya, which Fatih Keleş used as his 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 was monitoring the entire financial system himself, 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 NEVER REQUESTED ANY BENEFIT" Yıldız denied the allegations of receiving bribes from a place called Capacity AVM, stating the following:
"I have no involvement in this matter, but the incident in question was told to me by Bakırköy Deputy Mayor Ali Rıza Akyüz, who said that the load-bearing walls were cut, making the building earthquake-risky, and that parking lots were canceled to make shops. He said that these individuals wanted to introduce me to him and brought the representative 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 should be done. They told me that there was no static problem and that everything was fine. When I said that human life was at stake here, one of them said, 'We will handle it somehow.' Upon this, I raised my voice, saying that human life was at stake and that nothing else could be considered, and I left."
After a while from this meeting, an official meeting was held with the mayor and many municipal officials.
I called Süleyman Atik to this meeting. The reason I called him here was his technical knowledge on zoning issues. During the meeting, the request for a static report was raised, and it was suggested that actions be taken based on that report, leading to the conclusion that this issue should be resolved in collaboration with the relevant company. Ali Rıza and Süleyman Atik were authorized to meet with the representatives of the shopping mall. As far as I heard, there have been a few meetings between them. Ali Rıza and Süleyman Atik have had several 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 obtained a report from the university, and they would act according to that report. He mentioned that they would carry out the notification and sealing process as part of the procedure. No mention was made of any monetary fines. I learned that a fine was imposed by the municipality based on a decision to suspend execution for the sealing process. I have no involvement in these processes. I do not know what anyone wants regarding any issue. However, I did not request any benefits, nor did I send anyone for this request. I have no authority in Bakırköy Municipality.
"I FACED PRESSURE BECAUSE I DID MY JOB PROPERLY" Yıldız, who claimed that he was not included in the 'system' within the IBB and faced a lot of pressure for doing his job properly, continued his statement as follows:
"I did not include myself in the system mentioned above. I faced a lot of pressure due to my efforts to manage the participations properly. I tried to ensure the proper management of the participations within my authority and power. There may have been irregularities in the participations without my knowledge, but they could not carry them out through me. The most obvious example of this is the transfer of many jobs that should have been given to the participations to other companies. Although I had many rooms when I took office, 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 very tense due to his inappropriate requests. This issue is known by everyone. Afterward, I considered resigning several times, but I continued in my position as a result of the persuasion that the managers in the participation would face a lot of pressure if I left.
"I BECAME A MUNICIPAL COUNCIL MEMBER AT İMAMOĞLU'S INSISTENCE" 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 did not say anything about this but mentioned that he could establish a new system. When I told him that my name was mentioned for the Bakırköy Municipality, he said, 'that is 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. 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 neutralize and keep them under control by removing them from their duties. If I were 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 be mentioned in the allegations and findings under the IBB. I have explained everything I know to your Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in full transparency. In the following process, I will do my best to ensure that the truth comes to light.
However, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office did not find Yıldız's statement sufficient for him to benefit from the effective remorse provisions. After his statement, Yıldız was sent to Kandıra Prison, where he was detained.