Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office completed the IMM corruption investigation on November 11 and prepared a huge 3,806-page indictment against a total of 407 suspects, 107 of whom were detained and 7 of whom were caught. Bribery and corruption in 143 actions were described as causing a public loss of 161 billion.

UP TO 2 THOUSAND 352 YEARS OF PRISON WAS REQUESTED FOR 16 CRIMES

In the indictment, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was held responsible for 142 actions as the leader of the organization, was accused of “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime”, “recording personal data”, “seizing and disseminating personal data”, “concealing criminal evidence”, “obstructing communication”, “damaging public property”, “bribery”, “publicly disseminating misleading information”, “extortion”, “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations”, “devaluation of assets resulting from crime”. Up to 2,352 years of imprisonment was requested for the crimes of “laundering”, “tender rigging”, “deliberate pollution of the environment”, and violation of the Tax Procedure Law, Forest Law and Mining Law.

MANAGERS AND MEMBERS

Fatih Keleş, Murat Ongun, Ertan Yıldız, Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, Adem Soytekin and Hüseyin Gün were the managers of the organization. Suspects who are members of the organization include Yakup Öner, Emrah Bağdatlı, Resul Emrah Şahan, Necati Özkan, Tuncay Yılmaz, Mustafa Akın, Mehmet Pehlivan, Seza Büyükçulha, Hüseyin Köksal, Ali Nuhoğlu, Ali Sukas, İbrahim Bülbüllü and Melih Geçek.

VICTIM AND CUSTOMERS

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey, the Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanization of Istanbul, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Municipality of Şişli were listed as those damaged by the crime. While Adem Kameroğlu, Mustafa Keleş, Muzaffer Beyaz, Seyfi Beyaz and Mehmet Torun are included in the indictment as both complainants and suspects, the 16 complainants are Alaattin Kameroğlu, Avni Çelik, Fatih Erdoğan, Kaan Yücel, Murat Özyeğin, Sedat Kapıdağ, Abdulkerim Fırat, İlker Keleş, Münir Özkök, Nezih Barut, Salahattin Özgül, Ziya Yılmaz, Çetin Gül, Mehmet İlhan, Bahattin Uçar, Serbülend Danış took part.

EIGHTH DAY IN THE CASE

On the eighth day of the trial, before the hearing to be held by the Istanbul 40th High Criminal Court in the hall opposite the Marmara Closed Penal Institution, gendarmerie teams are carrying out security checks in and around the hall.

“MY MONTHLY INCOME IS 30 THOUSAND TL”

In the previous hearing, Ağaç A.Ş. General Manager Ali Sukas started his defense. Sukas stated that his monthly income was 30 thousand liras. Sukas, who was held responsible for 12 actions, said, “I did not instruct Ümit Polat to receive money from Tamer Gümüş. If there was a money exchange between the two, I did not see, hear or know. Ertan Yıldız said that an announcement regarding market cards should be made during Ramadan in case the companies volunteer. Within the scope of that announcement, this transaction took place for a couple of Ramadans.” Sukas admitted that they went on foreign trips with Taner Gümüş for fair purposes.

ALI SUKAS WILL CONTINUE HIS DEFENSE

The hearing will continue after the 4-day holiday. Ali Sukas will continue his defense.

The helicopter, which was carrying out training activities within the Qatar-Turkish Combined Joint Force Command, crashed and crashed into the sea due to a technical malfunction on the evening of March 21. In the statement made by the Ministry of National Defense, it was reported that 4 Qatar military personnel, Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) personnel Air Defense Major Sinan Taştekin, ASELSAN personnel technician Süleyman Cemre Kahraman and technician İsmail Enes Can were martyred in the accident.

SAD NEWS REACHED ISPARTA

The sad news of Major Taştekin, who was martyred in the helicopter crash, plunged his hometown Isparta into mourning. The sad news was given to the martyr’s parents, who reside in Gülcü District, by the authorities. While the Turkish Flag was hung on the house of the martyr’s family, citizens flocked to the house to express their condolences. It was learned that the martyr’s wife resides in Konya.

In the written statement made by the Ministry of National Defense, it was stated that “Four Qatar Armed Forces personnel, one Turkish Armed Forces personnel and two ASELSAN personnel, who were in the helicopter, were martyred in the accident. The exact cause of the accident will be determined as a result of the investigation to be carried out by the Qatar authorities.”

CONDOLENCE FROM PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN

The President issued a condolence message regarding the helicopter crash. Erdoğan used the following statements in his message: “I learned with great sadness that our Turkish Armed Forces and ASELSAN personnel and members of the Qatar Armed Forces were martyred in the helicopter crash that occurred in Qatar. I pray for God’s mercy on our heroic soldier, our ASELSAN personnel, and our friend and brother Qatar soldiers who were martyred in this tragic accident, and I express my condolences to their families. My condolences to our country, our nation and the people of Qatar.”

In the statement made by ASELSAN, it was said: “May God have mercy on our two ASELSAN personnel, our technicians and our Mehmetçik who were martyred as a result of the helicopter crash in Qatar, and we express our condolences and patience to their grieving families, relatives and our beloved nation. Our condolences to our nation. May our martyrs rest in heaven and their souls rest in peace.”

While the allegations that Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Muhittin Böcek, who was arrested and suspended from duty, gave 20 million euros to the CHP Headquarters for candidacy before the local elections on January 15, 2024, remain on the agenda, the tariff paid to the CHP Headquarters in order to be a candidate for the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality mayoralty was revealed in the investigation carried out by the Manavgat Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. It was revealed that CHP’s Manavgat Mayor Niyazi Nefi Kara turned the municipal bureaucracy into a financial source in order to “guarantee” his candidacy for Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor.

NOMINATION FUND HAS BEEN CREATED

According to the statement reflected in the bribery and corruption indictment in CHP’s Manavgat Municipality, Mayor Niyazi Nefi Kara called Zoning Director Osman Zafer Keçer to his office as soon as he took office and explained his strategic plan. Stating that he aims to be a candidate for Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor in the next election, Kara said that he needs 20 million euros in cash to achieve this goal and consolidate his power at the Headquarters. In order to create this huge budget, an “operations team” was established within the municipality. Every major project that came to the zoning and urban planning units was directly marked by the president’s inner circle. Large-scale projects submitted to Manavgat Municipality were leaked to people identified as “organization managers” by Building Control Manager Hüseyin Keçer and Zoning Manager Müge Avcı. Information of project owners; It was conveyed to the mayor’s nephew Hüseyin Cem Gül, Private Secretary Bulem Şahbaz and Deputy Mayor Sıla Ceyhan Berkaya. These names and their intermediary, Demir Demir, contacted the project owners and obtained benefits within the scope of the “candidate fund”. The zoning files of companies that did not make their payments were suspended indefinitely.

Keçer’s statements showed that a CHP municipality was operated as a political investment office rather than a public service. Following the allegation that the 20 million-euro “tariff” determined for the metropolitan seat was financed by bribes received from the projects, the fate of the money collected became a matter of curiosity.

BÖCEK DELIVERED IT AT THE GAS STATION

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek said that Muhittin Böcek stopped by a gas station in Manisa on January 15, 2024 and handed over a certain amount of money there for his “candidacy” and said, “Böcek had a situation of being a confessor. There is a money claim against Özgür Özel regarding his candidacy.” Böcek was determined as a candidate by the decision taken in the CHP Party Assembly 10 days later.

National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Chairman İbrahim Kalın held a meeting with Hamas Political Bureau members in Istanbul. According to information obtained from security sources, Israel’s ongoing attacks and violations against Palestine were evaluated during the meeting. It was stated that no ‘fait accompli’ would be allowed at the meeting, where unity was emphasized against Israel’s occupation and destabilization policies, which aim to set fire to the entire region, especially Jerusalem. During the meeting, detailed evaluations were made regarding the second phase of the Gaza Ceasefire Agreement. During the meeting, where the priority was to stop the attacks and deliver humanitarian aid, the expectation that Israel’s obligations that it had not fulfilled regarding the first phase should be fulfilled immediately was also expressed. During the meeting with the Hamas delegation, measures that could be taken against the recently increasing settler terrorism and settlement activities in the West Bank and the pressure of the Israeli security forces against the Palestinians were also evaluated. In addition, the Hamas delegation expressed their gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the efforts Türkiye has made so far to ensure peace in Gaza. Sources shared that Türkiye will continue to intensify its efforts to ensure permanent peace in Gaza.

CONDOLENCE MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shared a message of condolence for our heroes who were martyred in the helicopter crash in Qatar. In his message, President Erdoğan said, “I learned with great sadness the news that our Turkish Armed Forces and ASELSAN personnel and members of the Qatar Armed Forces were martyred in the helicopter crash that occurred in Qatar. I pray for God’s mercy on our heroic soldier, our ASELSAN personnel, and our friend and brother Qatar soldiers who were martyred in this tragic accident; I express my condolences to their families. My condolences to our country, our nation and the people of Qatar.”

I learned with great sadness the news that our Turkish Armed Forces, ASELSAN personnel and members of the Qatar Armed Forces were martyred in the helicopter crash in Qatar. To our heroic soldier who was martyred in this tragic accident, to our ASELSAN personnel, to our friend and brother Qatar…

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) March 22, 2026

Last minute | President Erdoğan: “My condolences to our country and Qatar”

“WE WISH GOD’S PEACE TO OUR MARTYRS”

Regarding the crash of a helicopter belonging to the Qatar Armed Forces, AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik said, “We wish God’s mercy to our martyrs who are members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and our martyrs who are technicians working at ASELSAN.”

In his post on his social media account, Çelik said, “We wish God’s mercy to our martyr, a member of the Turkish Armed Forces, who was martyred as a result of the accident of a helicopter belonging to the Qatar Armed Forces, and to our technician martyrs working at ASELSAN. Our condolences to our nation, the heroic Turkish Armed Forces and ASELSAN. We wish God’s mercy to the members of the Qatar Armed Forces who lost their lives. Our condolences to the brotherly people of Qatar.” We wish,” he said.

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS DURAN: CONDOLENCES TO OUR NATION

Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran said, regarding the crash of a helicopter belonging to the Qatar Armed Forces, “1 personnel from the Turkish Armed Forces, 2 personnel from ASELSAN and 4 personnel from the Qatar Armed Forces were martyred.”

Director of Communications Duran, in his post on his social media account, said, “During the training activities carried out within the Qatar-Turkish Combined Joint Force Command, 1 personnel from the Turkish Armed Forces, 2 personnel from ASELSAN and 4 personnel from the Qatar Armed Forces were martyred as a result of a helicopter belonging to the Qatar Armed Forces falling into the sea due to a technical malfunction. May God have mercy on our martyrs; patience to their families, our Turkish Armed Forces, ASELSAN and the friendly people of Qatar.” “I offer my condolences and condolences to our nation.”

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek stated that they reduced the average report period from 110 days to 29 days, thanks to the report delivery control in the expert system and the monthly number of tasks to be handled.

In his post on his NSosyal account, Minister Gürlek quoted the social media post of the Ministry of Justice regarding the expert system and emphasized that they have implemented important improvements in the expert system.

Stating that they will continue to strengthen the judicial system with determination, Gürlek gave the following information about the expert system:

“Thanks to the report delivery control and monthly number of tasks to be handled applications, we reduced the average report period from 110 days to 29 days. We balanced the workload of experts by limiting the number of monthly files to 30 in normal files and 60 in serial files. We made the reports more systematic, transparent and auditable with expert report templates and checklists. We made the processes more effective by integrating the Expert Assignment Guide and Performance Measurement Form into the UYAP system.”

We have implemented significant improvements in the expert witness system: ✅ Thanks to the Report Delivery Control and Monthly Number of Tasks to be Inspected applications, we reduced the average report period from 110 days to 29 days. ✅ Monthly number of files; 30 for normal files, 60 for serial files… https://t.co/BSUEQ8q1ut

— Akın Gürlek (@abakingurlek) March 22, 2026