Cem Küçük investigation: MASAK report in Tahir Sarıkaya case revealed

Details have emerged from the financial audit report prepared for journalist Tahir Sarıkaya, who was arrested as part of an investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into allegations of "publicly disseminating misleading information" and "blackmail" against Cem Küçük.

In the analysis conducted by the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch (KOM) using MASAK data, it was stated that Sarıkaya's bank transactions were examined individually after filtering out transfers between his own accounts.

According to the report, 101 million 932 thousand 207 liras in deposits and 134 million 170 thousand 972 liras in withdrawals were identified in Sarıkaya's accounts between 2017 and 2026. Thus, it was noted that the total financial activity subject to the investigation exceeded 236 million 103 thousand liras.

SUSPICIOUS TRANSFER ASSESSMENT IN THE REPORT

In the KOM analysis, it was stated that transaction descriptions were insufficient for 69 million 649 thousand 61 liras of the funds entering the accounts. It was assessed that these transactions occurred with a frequency and magnitude that could not be explained by personal debt relationships, and they were treated as "suspicious money transfers requiring explanation."

Regarding funds leaving the accounts, it was noted that the amount evaluated with the same criteria was 106 million 524 thousand 970 liras. The report included an assessment that the descriptions for these withdrawals were insufficient and showed an inconsistency with Sarıkaya's financial profile.

The financial audit pointed out that numerous transfers were made with descriptions such as "debt," "debt repayment," and "debt received in cash." The report expressed the opinion that such transactions could not be explained by personal debt exchanges due to their frequency and amount.

CRYPTO ASSETS AND COMPANY ACCOUNTS ALSO EXAMINED

In the section regarding Sarıkaya's crypto asset movements, it was determined that 21 million 409 thousand 825 liras entered his account through 499 separate transactions. It was stated that 27 million 569 thousand liras were sent from Sarıkaya's accounts to the same platform in 320 transactions, and the total volume of deposits and withdrawals linked to Paribu reached 48 million 978 thousand liras.

The report also included transactions linked to Cyprus-based hotel businesses. Accordingly, a total of 2 million 407 thousand 400 liras was sent to a hotel's account in 23 separate transactions. It was noted that 420 thousand liras came into Sarıkaya's account from another hotel in a single transaction, and a total of 500 thousand liras was later transferred to the same company in 5 transactions of 100 thousand liras each.

COMPANY ACCOUNT MOVEMENTS ALSO UNDER SCRUTINY

The financial analysis also examined the accounts of companies in which Sarıkaya's spouse previously held a partnership. According to the report, a total of 560 million 822 thousand 423 liras in activity occurred in these companies' bank accounts between 2020 and 2026, consisting of 339 million 318 thousand 544 liras in deposits and 221 million 503 thousand 879 liras in withdrawals.

In the KOM report, it was stated that there was an inconsistency between the tax base of the last three years and the bank account movements of one of the companies, which reportedly sold products such as women's handbags and shoes, and that a separate tax audit should be conducted on the company by expert auditors.

EMPHASIS ON FINANCIAL PROFILE IN THE REPORT

In the conclusion section, it was emphasized that transaction descriptions were insufficient for a significant portion of the high-value funds entering and leaving Sarıkaya's accounts. The report included an assessment that the detected money traffic was inconsistent with Sarıkaya's financial profile and his paid journalistic activities.

However, the report also noted that the study was an analysis based on raw data obtained from MASAK; it was recorded that a definitive conclusion could only be reached as a result of a banking or financial expert audit.