28.05.2025 12:50
In the corruption investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), the statement of Seyfi Beyaz, a partner of İmamoğlu who became a whistleblower and was released, has emerged. He confessed that they had to bribe Adem Soytekin, who is referred to as İmamoğlu's treasurer, for the occupancy permit of a project they built in Beylikdüzü. Beyaz stated that they made a payment of 3 million and later mentioned that the occupancy issue was resolved.
The corruption investigation against suspects, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from his position as the Mayor of Istanbul following his arrest by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, continues. The charges include "being a leader of a criminal organization," "being a member of a criminal organization," "bribery," "extortion," "qualified fraud," "illegally obtaining personal data," and "interfering with a tender."
HE BECAME A WHISTLEBLOWER AND WAS RELEASED
It has been learned that Seyfi Beyaz, the owner of Beyaz İnşaat, who was arrested on April 10 as part of the investigation, provided a statement under the effective remorse provision. The Istanbul Peace Criminal Court decided to release Beyaz under judicial control with the condition of "not leaving his residence."
"WE HAD TO BRIBE ADEM SOYTEKİN"
The statement of Seyfi Beyaz, who became a whistleblower in the ongoing corruption investigation, has emerged. Seyfi Beyaz stated that they had to bribe Adem Soytekin, who is referred to as the treasurer of İmamoğlu, for the occupancy permit of the West Side project they built in Beylikdüzü. Seyfi Beyaz mentioned that former Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık is a partner in the Coreliving project, which Adem Soytekin built at Basın Express.
"ADEM SOYTEKİN SAID 'IF YOU GIVE 3 MILLION, I WILL GET THE OCCUPANCY PERMIT'"
Seyfi Beyaz, a member of the board of directors of Beyazlar İnşaat, stated in his testimony to the prosecutor's office:
"First of all, I want to talk about the 3,000,000 TL given to Adem Soytekin to obtain the occupancy permit for the West Side project. Since we could not obtain the occupancy permit, about 200 homeowners sued us. 580 apartments were also in the area where Kemal Şahin claimed rights as the landowner. He was going to make demands from us. Therefore, we had to obtain the occupancy permit as soon as possible. Despite constructing the building in accordance with the permit and project, we could not obtain our occupancy permit. I spoke with Adem Soytekin about this. We told him that we could not obtain the occupancy permit. He said, 'If you give 3,000,000, I will get your occupancy permit.' We had previously been forced to give him an apartment for this reason. However, despite this, our occupancy permit was not granted. We were victimized. We were subjected to pressure from the landowner and homeowners. Subscriptions for electricity and water were not made. A fire broke out in the transformer. Due to the lack of water, life and property safety were at risk. Adem stated that we would not be able to obtain the occupancy permit if we did not pay this money. The person who communicated with Adem during this process was Oktay Hamzaoğlu. Following this, we held discussions with the partners. We accepted the demand and paid 3,000,000 TL, including VAT, to Adem.
"WE PAID THE MONEY BUT STILL DID NOT GET THE OCCUPANCY PERMIT"
One of the partners, İsa Ünal, said that we could officially issue the payment, and for this, Adem needed to issue an invoice. Consequently, an invoice of 3,540,000 TL was provided. I will present these documents in the file. Despite 3-4 months passing since this payment, the occupancy permit was not granted. I spoke with Adem; they are not giving the occupancy permit. In the last meeting, Adem took me to Mado. While sitting with Adem, he called Veysel Erçevik. This meeting took place at Mado. Following this, the deputy mayor came. He said that if we paid the money, the occupancy permit would be granted. I accepted his offer. Within 1-2 days, this money was given to Oktay Hamzaoğlu. He also said that he delivered it to Adem. Two days after delivering the money, they came from the municipality. They said that our occupancy reports were granted with proof of the date the money was given. I will submit the documents related to the occupancy permit. I remember that the occupancy permit for the building was granted on 12/11/2019.
"THIS IS HOW MUNICIPALITIES OPERATE"
Secondly, I want to mention that one of the partners in the Coreliving project, which Adem Soytekin co-partnered with the company named Ertok at Basın Express, is Mehmet Murat Çalık. I wanted to convey this matter as well. The issues we experienced during this process were not only in this project but also similar problems regarding occupancy permits were encountered in different projects. This is how municipalities operate. If you do not meet the demands, the processes for occupancy and permits are prolonged. No one wants to pay the specified amounts through official documents. I want these matters to be taken into consideration as well. I have been in prison for about 1.5 months. I request to be released and for my victimization to be ended."