New details emerge in Cem Küçük investigation: Prostitution and money laundering also in the file
Arrest warrants have been issued for three people in the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office; the MASAK report includes suspicious money traffic.
12punto
New developments have occurred in the Cem Küçük investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Within the scope of the investigation, arrest warrants were issued for Beyaz TV employee İsmail Çanak, businessman Serdar Özyurt, and journalist Ahsen Melek Kocatürk.
2 NAMES DISAPPEARED AFTER LEAVING THEIR PHONES AT HOME
According to the information in the file, it was learned that Çanak and Özyurt disappeared after leaving their phones at their homes. It was stated that Kocatürk is abroad. The information that Beyaz TV is a channel owned by AKP Ankara Deputy Osman Gökçek was also included in the file.
It was reported that Cem Duman, who is currently detained in another case, will also have his statement taken as a suspect in the investigation. While it was stated that the initial accusations against Cem Küçük included "publicly spreading misleading information" and "blackmail," it was noted that the charges of "laundering assets derived from crime" and "prostitution" have also been added to the file.
Within the same investigation, Beyaz TV programmer Tahir Sarıkaya had previously been arrested on charges of "blackmail." It was alleged that money traffic of unknown origin was detected between Sarıkaya and Küçük.
SUSPICIOUS MONEY MOVEMENT IN MASAK REPORT
The MASAK report prepared regarding Cem Küçük examined account movements between 2019 and 2026. According to the report, there was an inflow of 35 million 132 thousand liras and an outflow of 7 million 52 thousand liras in Küçük's accounts during this period.
The report stated that 14 million 474 thousand liras of the inflows consisted of deposit returns or loans, and 8 million 844 thousand liras consisted of salaries and royalties received from media organizations. However, it was reported that a suspicious transaction assessment was made for a total amount of 5 million 9 thousand liras coming from 23 individuals and companies.
It was noted that the transaction descriptions for these money movements were insufficient, the amounts were inconsistent with Küçük's financial profile, and they "did not align with the account profile of a person working as a salaried employee in the journalism profession."