Businessman Serdar Bilgili, mentioned in Ela Rümeysa Cebeci investigation, accused of 'fake invoicing'

According to a report in Sabah, accusations have emerged regarding the former Beşiktaş chairman and businessman Serdar Bilgili, whose name was mentioned by Ela Rümeysa Cebeci, who was arrested as part of a drug investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, alleging that companies were being hollowed out and taxes were being evaded.

According to the report by Ceyhan Torlak from Sabah, retired non-commissioned officer Ali Aksoy, who applied to the prosecutor's office in Istanbul, filed a criminal complaint against Serdar Bilgili with allegations of "issuing fake invoices, using fake invoices, keeping false records, tax evasion, and organized tax evasion committed through irregular money transfers via companies."

In his complaint petition, Aksoy alleged that some companies within Bilgili Holding A.Ş. issued invoices to each other that were not based on any actual service or purchase of goods through companies that were either under the holding's control or allegedly established in the names of managers and employees, and that these invoices were shown as expenses in accounting records.

Arguing that the tax base was deliberately lowered in this way, Aksoy stated that the money leaving the company coffers was recorded as if "payments had been made."

However, claiming that there are strong suspicions that the money in question was transferred back to family members through different accounts in practice, Aksoy alleged that a significant portion of the amounts leaving the companies was collected in accounts belonging to Serdar Bilgili's sister, Sevil Bilgili.

Following a positive drug test, presenter Ela Rümeysa Cebeci was arrested on charges of "facilitating the use of narcotic substances." Fenerbahçe Club President Sadettin Saran was called to testify and his residence was searched as part of allegations of "supplying narcotic substances" and "providing facilities for the use of narcotic substances."

A person who testified as a witness in the investigation file had alleged that Ela Rümeysa Cebeci had been with Sadettin Saran, Okan Bayülgen, and businessman Serdar Bilgili.

DENIAL FROM BİLGİLİ'S LAWYERS: THE ALLEGATIONS ARE UNTRUE, THEY HAVE NO BASIS IN TRUTH WHATSOEVER

A denial regarding the allegations in question came from the company's lawyer. In the statement made by the company lawyer, it was said, "The relevant reports are completely untrue, carry no basis in truth whatsoever, and were prepared with the intent of revenge following the loss of legal battles against Bilgili Holding by the relevant reporter's friends, containing accusations that entirely target the reputation of our clients, Bilgili Holding A.Ş. and Serdar Bilgili."

The statement made by Doğukan Bora Savaş, the lawyer for Bilgili Holding A.Ş. and Serdar Bilgili, is as follows:

In the 28.12.2025 issue of your newspaper and on your website, reports were published under the headline "He Evaded Millions with Fake Invoices" regarding Mr. Serdar Bilgili and Bilgili Holding. The relevant reports first appeared as a story by your newspaper's İzmir/Aegean reporter Ceyhan Torlak, and were subsequently featured on your website in the same manner. This report, like previous reports made by Ceyhan Torlak regarding Bilgili Holding, consists entirely of baseless allegations. All legal processes will be initiated against the relevant report and the parties making the allegations.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that although Ceyhan Torlak is an İzmir/Aegean reporter, he only produces judicial reports regarding Bilgili Holding executives and their affiliates concerning Istanbul. Likewise, it has been determined by judicial decisions in the relevant cases that all allegations contained in the reporter's previous stories were baseless.

It is also noteworthy that Ceyhan Torlak declares that he is in a close relationship with the owners of the entertainment venue called Bellini, with which our client is in a legal dispute, and this does not comply with journalistic ethics.

Indeed, one of the significant points that draws attention is that this baseless report, which is the subject of this correction, was made immediately after the prosecution opened a criminal case against the owners of the relevant business on charges of threatening Bilgili Holding and its employees, and after the decision that the lease agreement was terminated due to non-payment of debts was definitively determined by the Court of Cassation and notified to the parties on 26.12.2025.

The relevant reports are completely untrue, carry no basis in truth whatsoever, and were prepared with the intent of revenge following the loss of legal battles against Bilgili Holding by the relevant reporter's friends, containing accusations that entirely target the reputation of our clients, Bilgili Holding A.Ş. and Serdar Bilgili. It has been determined by judicial decisions that the events that the relevant reporter previously made the subject of reports about our client were false and untrue.

All allegations mentioned in the report regarding the criminal complaint filed by a person named Ali Aksoy, who has no connection, business, or friendship relationship with Bilgili Holding and its employees, are untrue.

Our clients, Bilgili Holding and Serdar Bilgili, have spent their entire commercial lives in the public eye and with transparency; at the same time, they are strictly audited not only by tax authorities but also by many regulatory institutions of our state. In accordance with our high commercial standards, all our commercial affairs and transactions are audited continuously and uninterruptedly by many auditing institutions and independent auditors that possess international certifications, in addition to these audits, and the reports obtained as a result of these audits are submitted to the relevant institutions and organizations. Not even the slightest detail was mentioned regarding what the "serious indications" alleged in the report are.

It is already evident that the report is far from reality and contains no concrete allegations; on the contrary, it is clear that it only aims to draw attention to the report by bringing popular topics to the agenda and by making the X (Twitter) agenda, with which our client has no connection, the subject of the report.

On the other hand, the fact that the criminal complaint previously filed by Ali Aksoy, who is mentioned in the report subject to this correction and stated to be a retired non-commissioned officer, against a company was also reported by Ceyhan Torlak on 22.07.2025, reveals the relationship between the complainant Ali Aksoy and Ceyhan Torlak, who wrote the report.

Indeed, the threats received that such reports would be made about our client were reported to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office even before these reports were made.

Since these reports, which were made without observing any journalistic principles and solely for the purpose of defamation, irreversibly violate the rights of our clients and cause damage to their reputation in the public eye; we demand that this correction be published first and that the publications regarding the reports be removed from your website, and we respectfully announce to the public that we will use all our legal rights in the ongoing process.

Bilgili Holding A.Ş. and Serdar Bilgili

Atty. Doğukan Bora SAVAŞ