Bebek Hotel employee Çobanoğlu's prosecution testimony revealed: Allegations regarding Ali Koç, Acun Ilıcalı, and Okan Buruk

Mehmet Çobanoğlu, an employee of Bebek Hotel owner Muzaffer Yıldırım, described the poker parties, the businesspeople who attended, and the ledger kept for the games in his prosecution testimony. The testimony included allegations regarding Ali Koç, Acun Ilıcalı, and Okan Buruk.

According to the report by İsmail Saymaz from HalkTV, Çobanoğlu's testimony covered Muzaffer Yıldırım's poker parties, the names of those who attended, the money involved, how that money was transferred, drug allegations, and how famous names visiting the hotel were tracked.

"POKER WAS PLAYED AT THAT TABLE"

Suspect Mehmet Çobanoğlu stated that he was cleaning Yıldırım's house on the day of the raid and admitted to moving the poker table, saying the following:

"I admit that I moved the poker table shown in the camera footage you presented down before the search. Muzaffer Yıldırım and 10 of his friends would play poker at this table. I did not move this table down to destroy evidence. The reason I did not disclose the location of the poker table during the search was because I was afraid; I carried out this action as a result of the task given to me."

Denying the drug allegations, Çobanoğlu provided the following information regarding the amount of money circulating at the poker table:

"I would serve drinks, food, and tea to Muzaffer Yıldırım and his friends during the game, and Muzaffer Yıldırım and his friends would sometimes give me tips in return. (I did not give them drugs, nor do I use drugs). This game would take place between 2 and 4 days a week, while in the summer, fewer games were played compared to winter. The game would sometimes last 4 hours and sometimes 7 hours.

During the game, everyone would have poker chips in front of them, cards would be dealt, and they would enter the game according to their hands. Sometimes they would not enter the game, and sometimes the word 'raise' would be said; the word 'bluff' was frequently used at that time. They would write down the amounts owed to each other in a ledger. The reason I moved the ledger down during the search was because I was afraid. When Muzaffer Yıldırım was detained, his friends had gathered both to watch a match and to play poker after the match."

"THEY WOULD COME AND PLAY POKER 2-3 TIMES A WEEK"

Çobanoğlu was asked who Kamil Akyıldız (Transmetro Customs Consultancy), Daryo Kebudi (Escar Tourism), Ferit Baltacıoğlu (House Cafe), Selim Anter (Businessman), İslam Ekşi (Businessman), Tuğrul Gültekin (Hotel Owner), and Ömer Bayraktar (involved in textile businesses in Russia) were. Çobanoğlu stated that these individuals were guests of Muzaffer Yıldırım at his home and were there to play poker. Çobanoğlu also explained that these names would come to Muzaffer Yıldırım's house 2-3 times a week to play poker.

BLUE-COVERED LEDGER

The prosecution asked suspect Çobanoğlu about the blue-covered ledger found in Muzaffer Yıldırım's house, which contained names and numbers.

Regarding the note in the ledger that read "03/01/2026 date İslam +243,000, Selim +10,000, Papi +81,000, Mizo -214,300, Toro -27,500, Ömer -90,000," Çobanoğlu replied, "Since there was no cash exchange between them, notes like this were taken."

GAME CALENDAR

In the studies conducted by the prosecution, it was determined that games were played for 12 days in February 2025, 16 days in March 2025, 12 days in April 2025, 6 days in May 2025, 8 days in June 2025, 7 days in July 2025, 10 days in August 2025, 12 days in September 2025, 11 days in October 2025, 9 days in November 2025, and 9 days in December 2025.

When asked about these findings, suspect Çobanoğlu said, "Settlements between them were made by keeping notes like this. I do not know how the money was given."

ALLEGATION OF TRACKING ALI KOÇ AND INFORMING ACUN ILICALI

The prosecution reminded him of the words of Arif Altunbulak, whose testimony was taken on January 27: "I knew that Muzaffer Yıldırım played poker with his friends at his house; he even hosted games at his house 4 days a week. On Tuesdays, a businessman named Tuna Aksu would host. I had heard that there were large amounts of money exchanged between them. (This situation will emerge when bank accounts are examined)."

Çobanoğlu said the following:

"I just learned that the money was sent via bank. What I saw was the ledger and the poker game. I do not know about the money exchanges between them. However, I stated at the beginning of my testimony that games were played 4 days a week."

The prosecution also reminded him of Altunbulak's words about Acun Ilıcalı. Altunbulak had said the following about Ilıcalı:

"Muzaffer Yıldırım was constantly tracking the businesspeople and famous people who came to the hotel. If I were to tell the story about this, he would constantly ask us when Ali Koç came, who he was with, and at what time, and we would tell him whether he had come or not. Muzaffer Yıldırım would constantly chase Ali Koç in this way. Acun Ilıcalı would also chase Ali Koç in this way and try to reach him. My guess is that Muzaffer Yıldırım would learn information about Ali Koç and tell Acun Ilıcalı. Ali Koç would sometimes come to the hotel with his family, sometimes with his friends, and sometimes with businesspeople. Muzaffer Yıldırım attached great importance to tracking this matter. (I do not know exactly why he collected the information or who he reached with it)."

Mehmet Çobanoğlu, upon that reminder, noted the following:

"I saw that the person named Acun Ilıcalı came to a party at Muzaffer Yıldırım's house once. It has been about 4 years."

"OKAN BURUK WOULD FREQUENTLY COME TO THE HOTEL"

Altunbulak also said, "Okan Buruk was our customer who frequently came to the hotel. He would come to our hotel two days a week. (Together with Fatih Demircan and Maruf Güneş)."

Çobanoğlu responded to this allegation as follows:

"Okan Buruk did not come to Muzaffer Yıldırım's house during the times I was there. I did not see him.

Finally, I would like to state in my testimony that I admit to serving at Muzaffer Yıldırım's game. The reason I moved the poker table down on 08/01/2026 was because I was afraid. If I had any intention of destroying evidence, I would have torn up the ledger and thrown thousands of poker chips into the trash to destroy them. I did not destroy the evidence; I moved it to the storage. I told what I knew without slandering anyone and without being under pressure. I request to be released."