Shocking moments at the courthouse: Engin Polat poses with a smile despite his crimes
As witnesses gave their testimonies in the trial of 28 defendants, including Dilan and Engin Polat, who are being tried on charges of money laundering, Engin Polat's smiling in the courthouse despite all the accusations did not go unnoticed. Dilan Polat, for her part, denied the accusations, stating that she had been slandered.
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"Establishing and managing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes", 'laundering assets derived from crime' and "violating the law on the regulation of betting and games of chance in football and other sports competitions" charges against 28 non-detained defendants, including Dilan and Engin Polat, continued to be heard.
The hearing held at the Anatolian 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance was attended by defendants Dilan Polat, Engin Polat, Sezgin Polat, Alper Kürşat Polat, Sıla Doğu, Can Doğu, and Ahmet Gün.
"DERKAN BAŞER VOUCHED FOR ENGIN POLAT"
Three witnesses who are currently detained for other crimes were heard at the hearing.
Witness Emre Ç. stated that he had known the defendants since 2017 through Veysel Şahin, saying, “I know him from Veysel Şahin including Engin Polat in the system. The illegal betting system. We gave him the management of the website. We were running my own betting sites in certain countries abroad. Derkan Başer vouched for Engin Polat. Our goal was to launder the income from illegal betting because the system was large. I was working on Georgia and Greece. Veysel Şahin went to prison in 2017. In 2018, Derkan Başer and I became the authorities. Derkan Başer took over the Turkish market and I took the other places. We were trying to launder our personal money through the system and put it into official channels,” he said.
“Apart from the betting site we established, we were thinking of a cash system because we always thought about securing our business,” said witness Emre Ç., adding, “Money was injected into the system. It was being detected via MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board). Since MASAK could not detect it in 30 days, cybercrimes were stepping in. Companies established on these individuals were opened to the market. Money was slowly being loaded into the accounts of the companies established on them. These individuals transferred large amounts of money to their companies in a short time. The money was transferred and loaded via cold wallets,” he stated.
NESLİM GÜNGEN DETAIL
Taking the floor, the other witness Aygün Y. said, “Defendant Mustafa Özalp offered money for us to close Neslim Güngen's account. There was hostility between Dilan Polat and Neslim Güngen. We did not accept. İleyna Topal, her husband, and Nez Demir should also be investigated. They are also involved in this business,” he said.
Witness Erkan Ş. said, “I partnered with Dilan Polat and Engin Polat in 2021 through Mustafa Özalp's advertising agency. I was a social media influencer and also a software developer. I worked with Dilan. Then we fell out and there was a lynching among ourselves. We badmouthed each other on social media.”
“Dilan had my social media accounts closed through Mustafa,” the witness said, adding, “I installed RAT (Remote Access Trojan) on Dilan and Engin's phones. You can send a message to anyone you want with the name of the company you want. For example, you can send a message as if it were from a bank, and when the link sent is clicked, you can access their personal information. I also did it for virtual betting. There were money transfers via Bitcoin account wallets,” he stated.
Given the floor to respond to the witness statements, defendant Engin Polat said, “I don't know any of them. I have nothing to do with what they are talking about. We have 130 branches, we lost 30 and we continue to lose them. We want our companies to be returned to us.”
Stating that she did not know the witnesses, Dilan Polat said, “They are completely slandering. I think it's a setup. I swear on my honor, my chastity, and my children that I have never seen them once in my life. There are people who earn their bread from my branches,” she said, requesting that the precautionary measures be lifted.
Defendant Sıla Doğu said, “We don't know any of the witnesses. We have never met Derkan Başer face to face. I said I have lupus. I went to prison innocent and unfairly. My health is not good, I suffered a lot in prison. I am now requesting that my measures be lifted. I want to regain my health and my job.”
Defendant Can Doğu requested his acquittal. The court adjourned the hearing for an interim decision.