Another person arrested in IMM operations becomes a 'confessor'

Serbülend Danış, the owner of Danış Asfalt who was arrested as part of the corruption operation targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), became a whistleblower on June 17. In his detailed statement to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Danış explained his relationships within the IMM and the payment crisis he experienced in multi-million lira tenders in all its details.

“I HAD NO CONTACT WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN ONE PERSON”

Stating that he founded the Danış Asfalt company in 2016, Serbülend Danış said that he had been receiving various tenders from the IMM and its subsidiaries since 2022. Noting that payments for small-scale jobs were made within a few months, Danış stated that he started work in February 2024 as part of an asphalt tender he won in 2023, with a total value exceeding 1 billion 6 million TL. However, he said that he had not received payment for months for this work and that he had a receivable amounting to 500 million TL.

IT STARTED WITH THE QUESTION “DO YOU KNOW THE SYSTEM?”

According to the report by Gerçek Gündem, Danış stated that at the end of April, a person he did not know before, Baki Aydöner, called him via FaceTime and said he wanted to discuss his receivables at the municipality. Stating that they met at a cafe in Vadi Istanbul a few days after this call, Danış alleged that Aydöner asked him, “Do you know the system if you want to get your receivables?”

Danış said, “I told him that I had nothing to do with the system and that the payments should be made. He said that the system works this way and that I would not receive payment unless I paid money.”

“I ACCEPTED THE OFFER DUE TO ECONOMIC PRESSURE”

Danış stated that when payments were still not made, he fell into an economic deadlock and eventually had to accept Aydöner's offer. He stated that he told him he had no money, but that he had real estate and could transfer them.

Stating that they met with Aydöner a few more times in May and June 2024 at places like Vakko Cafe in Vadi Istanbul and Midpoint in Taksim, Danış noted that he was called to these meetings via location shares sent over FaceTime and WhatsApp. In the last meeting held at the end of June or the beginning of July, he expressed that Aydöner increased the pressure with the words, “If you don't pay, your payments will not be deposited.”

'NO CASH PAYMENTS WERE MADE'

In the continuation of his statement, Danış said:

“He told me to transfer 2 pieces of real estate located in the Şile district to a company named Hasanoğlu DTM Mobilya İnşaat, owned by his brother Bulut Aydöner. On July 1, 2024, I transferred parcel 25 in block 368 located in Balibey Neighborhood of Şile District to Bulut Aydöner's company. While this transfer was being made, I sent an authorized person from the company, and Bulut Aydöner came himself. After I transferred the first real estate on July 1, 2024, 2 immediate payments of 70,690,000.00 TL and 89,398,300.50 TL were made on July 2, 2024, within the scope of the progress payments for the tender I had received for my company named Danış Asfalt. He asked me to transfer the real estate numbered parcel 26 in block 368, also located in Balibey Neighborhood of Şile District, to his brother's company. I transferred this real estate to the company named Hasanoğlu DTM Mobilya İnşaat on August 13, 2024.

After this date, my payments regarding the tender I had received began to be made regularly. I am submitting the current account statements showing the dates my payments were made to the file. Regarding the sale of both of these real estate properties, no payment was made to me or any of my relatives through the bank or in cash. When we reached February 2025, Baki Aydöner called me again and invited me to the Vakko cafe in Vadi Istanbul. Here, he told me, ‘they could be subject to an operation, and that they could have problems because the 2 real estate properties I transferred in 2024 were taken irregularly as no payment was made for them,' and said that we should draw up a contract retrospectively and show these real estate properties as if they were transferred in exchange for a promissory note.

Upon this, on February 12, 2025, and February 18, 2025, my brother Taylan Danış went to a Beko dealer in the Pendik district and met with Bulut Aydöner, where they signed 2 contracts dated August 2, 2024, and June 26, 2024, retrospectively. Although I did not attend these meetings, I had signed the contract and given it back to my brother because they had brought it to me beforehand. My brother Taylan uses the line 0533 371 .. .. . When his statement is taken, he will confirm my declarations, and this issue can also be determined from HTS records. After showing as if they had given me 2 promissory notes here, he tore these notes up in front of my brother.

'THEY ENSURED THE FORCED TRANSFER OF REAL ESTATE'

Since my brother took a photo of these fake promissory notes before tearing them up, I am submitting them to the file along with the copies of the contracts. The stamp of the company named Hasanoğulları DTM Oto. İnş. is on the buyer side, and these meetings took place at the address of Pendik Branch Batı Mah. 23 Nisan Cad. No:10A Pendik İstanbul, which is indicated under the stamp. Although the lands were shown as sold for 5,200,000.00 and 5,500,000.00 TL in the fake promissory note and contract prepared retrospectively, the approximate value of these lands is around 50,000,000.00 TL. During the process when I transferred these lands, a receivable of around 500 million had accumulated at the IMM. I was forced to have 10 percent of my receivables collected as a fee.

As I explained, they ensured the forced transfer of my real estate to a structure they call the 'system' so that the payments I deserved within the scope of the 2023/1132164 tender number I won in 2023 could be made to me. During this process, I only met with Baki Aydöner. I never came together with his brother Bulut Aydöner. I do not know the fate of these lands after they took them over from me. Other than Baki Aydöner, I did not have any other such meeting with any other person working at the IMM. I will submit the screenshots of the phone calls I had with Baki Aydöner to the file.”