Police detain 15 people in a new wave of the money-laundering investigation into the Sarıgül family

Friday’s operation

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 17 people on Friday morning in its investigation into the family of Mustafa Sarıgül, an independent member of parliament for Erzincan, according to A Haber, Hürriyet, Habertürk and NTV. Cumhuriyet and Sözcü put the number of warrants at 19.

Police caught 15 suspects in simultaneous raids, and the search for two others, identified only by the initials Ç.K. and H.M., is continuing, Habertürk and Diken reported. The suspects face accusations of membership of a criminal organisation, laundering the proceeds of crime and bribery.

A Haber’s reporter Mustafa Kadir Mercan said the operation may have followed an additional statement that Sarıgül’s son Emir, who is under house arrest, recently gave to prosecutors. Hürriyet reported that it was his fourth statement in the case.

How the case began

The investigation began after a complaint by two German citizens, K.P. and M.B., the prosecutor’s office said in October. According to the statement, the complainants alleged that an €80 million contract had been drawn up, that a €100 million transfer had been made, that a €1 billion fund had been promised to be moved abroad as loans through the use of public influence, and that a boat had been sold for €1.5 million.

Twenty-seven people have been jailed so far, among them Sarıgül’s son Ömer, his former wife Aylin Kotil and the journalist Murat Ağırel, Hürriyet and Diken reported. A vocational college in Istanbul’s Şişli district was also found to have been used, and a trustee was appointed to run it.

Prosecutors sent the file on Mustafa Sarıgül himself to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, because he is a sitting MP. It covers allegations of forming a criminal organisation, child sexual abuse, laundering and aggravated sexual assault. Diken noted that Sarıgül resigned from the Yeni Parti on 28 October.

New testimony and the defence of Ağırel

Hürriyet reported a new statement from Müge Bayır, who was released under judicial control after being detained. She said Sarıgül had called her and her sister many times after her detention and later sent her 149,000 lira through intermediaries.

“I regret getting in touch and speaking with Mustafa Sarıgül after I was detained, and I regret taking money from this person.”

Müge Bayır, Hürriyet(translated)

Ağırel’s colleagues reject the case against him. Diken quoted the journalist Timur Soykan, who said Ağırel had held back the story because he did not consider the documents he had sufficient.

“A journalist can be subjected to slander simply because he wants to prepare a story. Unfortunately we have lived through this before. We bear witness to our friend Murat Ağırel’s innocence.”

Timur Soykan, Diken(translated)