The US District Court for the Southern District of New York approved the joint application of the US Department of Justice Southern New York District Attorney’s Office and Halkbank to dismiss the criminal case. With the court’s approval of the application, the criminal case that had been going on for 9 years ended.

“THE CASE HAS BEEN FINALLY AND FINALLY CLOSED”

In the statement made by Halkbank to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), “The criminal case against our bank, which has been going on for years in the USA, has been definitively and finally closed. We hope that the decision will be beneficial to our Bank, our investors, our customers and our employees.” It was said.

The statement also said, “Our Bank, which has been serving our country’s economy for 88 years, will continue its activities in a strong, reliable and uninterrupted manner, in accordance with all national and international regulations, today and in the future, as in the past, and will continue to contribute to the growth of both the banking sector and the country’s economy.” expressions were used.

HALKBANK GENERAL MANAGER ÖZDİL: THE BANK’S POSITION IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS WILL BE STRENGTHENED

Making a statement on the subject, Halkbank General Manager Recep Süleyman Özdil said, “I would like to express my gratitude to everyone, especially our state and nation, who supported us during this long and difficult litigation process and always stood by us.” he said.

Stating that the legal process was completed without any judicial or administrative sanctions for the Bank, Recep Süleyman Özdil said, “The positive completion of the process, which we carried out meticulously, once again confirmed our sensitive compliance policies, which we have established in line with national and international financial regulations, and our integrated approach based on transparency and trust. This decision will allow us to focus on our activities more predictably and with higher motivation.” he said.

EMPHASIS ON INCREASED TRUST AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONS

Emphasizing that the Bank’s position in international markets will be further strengthened in the coming period, Recep Süleyman Özdil continued as follows:

“We expect this development to increase our foreign funding opportunities, further our existing relationships with correspondent banks, and deepen our collaborations with international financial institutions. In the new period, we anticipate that the trust of international investors and financial circles in our Bank will increase steadily and investors’ interest in our Bank’s products will strengthen. Increasing trust and international cooperation will diversify our financing resources, create room for maneuver in managing our resource costs, and contribute significantly to our growth targets. Thus, we will be able to offer the resources we will obtain from international markets to the service of the real sector more effectively; “We will be able to further increase the support we provide to the financing of production, investment, employment and exports.”

The Ministry made a written statement regarding the 2025 Türkiye Report accepted today at the EP General Assembly.

“(The report) contains evaluations that are incompatible with the facts, based on false information and unfounded claims of anti-country circles.” In the statement, it was stated that the report in question was prepared within the framework of a deliberate political agenda, reflecting the ideological memorization of some EP members, and aimed to overshadow the current positive agenda at a time when the strategic importance of Turkey-EU relations is increasing.

In the statement, it was stated that this approach, which provides a basis for terrorist organizations and anti-Turkey circles, once again shows how far the EP is from presenting a strategic vision for the future of Türkiye-EU relations.

In the statement, it was stated that the legal processes carried out by the independent Turkish judiciary were distorted in the report, and the targeting of the Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek with unfounded accusations was flatly rejected.

In the statement, the following was noted:

“The Turkish judiciary, which is one of the fundamental pillars of our state’s sovereignty, is not open to the intervention of any international institution, external actor or political environment. It is not possible to accept initiatives that target judicial processes with political motives and contradict the principle of judicial independence.

“Our expectation from the EP is that, in the current environment where global challenges are increasing, it will adopt an approach that will contribute to the advancement of relations between the candidate country Türkiye and the EU on a constructive basis, on the basis of common interests.”

Kuralmaz (49), who was on duty at the hearing at the Gebze 1st High Criminal Court, was taken to the hospital after falling ill. Yumaz, who was determined to have a heart attack, could not be saved despite the intervention. A ceremony will be held for uymaz at Gebze Courthouse tomorrow.

“REST IN HEAVEN”

Deputy Minister of Justice Can Tuncay, in his post on his social media account, said, “We have learned with deep sadness that our Gebze Public Prosecutor, Mr. Ayhan uymaz, passed away today, as a result of the illness he suffered during his duty in the Gebze 1st High Criminal Court hearing room, despite all the interventions made in the hospital where he was taken. May God have mercy on our valuable prosecutor, who has worked for our justice organization for many years, and we offer our condolences and patience to his grieving family, relatives and the entire judicial community. May he rest in peace.” he said.

“HE DIED AS A RESULT OF HEART ATTACK”

The following message was shared on the social media account of the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the death of uymaz:

“Public Prosecutor Ayhan Uygunaz, who was working in the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, passed away on 16.06.2026 as a result of a heart attack while performing his duty as a trial prosecutor. The sudden death of our valuable colleague, who distinguished himself with his devotion to his duty, professional knowledge and devoted work, caused deep sadness for our organization and the judicial community. May God have mercy on the deceased, we offer our condolences and patience to his grieving family, relatives and our judicial organization. The late Public Prosecutor “A ceremony will be held for Ayhan uymaz on 17.06.2026 at 10.00 in the protocol area of the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. It is respectfully announced to the public.”

CONDOLENCE MESSAGE FROM MINISTER GÜRLEK

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek, who published a condolence message for uymaz, used the following statements on his social media account:

“I learned with great sadness the death of our Gebze Public Prosecutor Ayhan uymaz, who lost his life as a result of an illness he suffered while on duty. May God have mercy on our late prosecutor, and I offer my condolences and patience to his family, relatives and the judicial community. May he rest in peace.”

Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi stated that all stray animals would be collected in shelters until the New Year and announced that they would take as a model the work he did when he was the Governor of Erzurum.

Within the scope of this system called “Erzurum Model”; Shelter capacities in cities will be increased rapidly and the legal shares in municipal budgets will be required to be used only for stray animals, without being transferred to another area.

During Minister Çiftçi’s term as Governor of Erzurum, an application was launched to report stray animals in the city via the 112 Emergency Call Center. The officers evaluate every report from the citizens, intervene immediately, pass the health check, and place the animals in their new living spaces in the shelter.

Within the scope of the works carried out by Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality, the facility, which will be built on 52 decares of land and have a capacity of 5 thousand animals, is aimed to be completed by the end of June.

THE SYSTEM OPERATES VIA 112

Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mehmet Sekmen stated that first the number of animals in the city was determined and they increased the shelter capacity accordingly. Stating that the system is run through the 112 Emergency Call Center, Sekmen stated that they intervened in 5 minutes with 4 vehicles and 50 personnel.

As a result of the studies carried out during Minister Çiftçi’s term as Governor of Erzurum, the number of dogs on the street in Erzurum was determined to be 3 thousand 899 on September 29, 2025, and as a result of the studies carried out, this number was zero as of November 4, 2025.

In the investigation against Antalya Metropolitan Municipality subsidiary company ANSET, 9 suspects, including the wife and mother-in-law of the detained Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Cansel Tuncer, were detained. An operation was carried out by the teams of the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch of the Provincial Police Department within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against ANSET regarding the allegations of “tender rigging”, “bribery”, “laundering of proceeds from crime” and “rigging the performance of an act”. During the operation, Cansel Çevikol Tuncer’s wife VT and mother-in-law NT, who were arrested within the scope of the same investigation while working as the general secretary of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, BA, DA, EB, M.Ş, NI, RSÖ, S.Ü., who worked in the municipality and municipality affiliated companies. and Ş.A. He was detained. It was learned that archaeologist M.Ş.’s statement will be taken in Istanbul.

IRREGULARITY IN TENDERS
It was learned that there were irregularities in various tenders for the procurement of goods and services carried out by ANSET, and that some public officials involved in the tender processes prepared documents related to the procurement of goods and services by pretending to have been performed works and services that were not actually performed. It was stated that the wife and mother-in-law of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Cansel Tuncer, who was detained during the investigation, were detained as a result of financial investigations regarding unexplained money transfers during the acquisition processes of real estate.

Following the arrest of 10 people, including Mayor Bora Balcıoğlu, within the scope of the corruption investigation carried out against Istanbul Silivri Municipality, it was revealed that 21.5 million lira of public damage was incurred, the mayor received 450 thousand dollars of bribe, 40 thousand 200 euros were delivered in a black box at the CHP district building, and 3 villas were settled illegally. The confessions of two confessors and Mayor Balcıoğlu were revealed. Balcıoğlu was suspended from duty. It was claimed that a property of 5 thousand 368 square meters in Balaban District was previously abandoned to the public as a green area, and then it was re-established and converted into an industrial land.

It was stated that the real estate was transferred to another structure, although it should have been returned to its former owner, and the expert report stated that 21 million 522 thousand 717 liras of public damage was caused due to the transaction. One of the most striking details of the investigation was the contractor’s claims. The contractor admitted that he gave 450 thousand dollars directly to Mayor Balcıoğlu in order to obtain a workplace occupancy. In the statements taken during the investigation, a cafe operator admitted that he gave 40 thousand 200 euros to the former CHP district chairman, with Balcıoğlu’s knowledge, in a black box in the CHP district headquarters building, in order to obtain the right to operate.