Organization leader presents defense in trial of 21 defendants, including Bahar and Nihal Candan

The trial continued for the case in which Alisya Bahar Candan faces 14 to 44 years in prison and Gülnihal Çiçek, known as Nihal Candan, faces 8 to 24 years in prison on charges of fraud and membership in a criminal organization.

The 4th hearing of the case, held at the Küçükçekmece 5th High Criminal Court, was attended by the detained defendant Bahar Candan and her sister Nihal Candan, who is being tried without detention.

Organization leader Onur Apaydın, who connected to the hearing via the SEGBİS system, presented his defense.

"I DID NOT DECEIVE ANYONE"

Stating that he would tell what he knows sincerely during the hearing, organization leader Onur Apaydın said, “I am ashamed to be before you as a former police officer. There are many accusations and claims against me. No one is as good as they appear, nor as bad as they are described.

A misconception from the very beginning; I did not deceive Nihal or anyone else involved in this case by using the name Kaan Hamzaoğlu or by presenting myself as wealthy. Since 2014, I have operated businesses under the names Hamzaoğlu Car Rental and Hamzaoğlu Buffet. At the same time, I was working as a police officer.

My sign said Hamzaoğlu in those years. Everyone, including my family, calls me Kaan. Since it is more burdensome for a police officer to change their first and last name compared to other people, I did not make an application regarding this. My family situation is not ultra-wealthy, but I am in a better position than a middle-class family.

There are nearly 20 vehicles in my rental company. All of these vehicles belonged to my family and me. In other words, they were not rented vehicles. I had to close these businesses due to the never-ending demands of Ümit Saral.

I lived on my police salary until May 2021. I am very regretful for being part of the Ümit Saral Organized Crime Organization, and I am sadder than anyone else,” he said.

"THEY PRESENTED MY EX-GIRLFRIEND TO THE MEDIA AND I BECAME AN ORGANIZATION LEADER"

In the continuation of his defense, Onur Apaydın said, “I did not enter this system to buy cheap cars or to earn income. They portrayed me as a bad person regarding my private relationships, but in my past relationships, no one committed suicide or went to prison. If your family is a little wealthy, you cannot escape this structure called the Ümit Saral Organized Crime Organization in any way.

When I was a police officer, I was a patriotic policeman. I had no problems. An arrest warrant was issued for me 6 months after the operation, and I didn't even know about it during the 1-year process. No raid was conducted on any of my addresses. I became an organization leader the moment they presented my ex-girlfriend to the media,” he stated.

Defendant Apaydın said, “I did not provide any guidance in the selling or buying of vehicles. I don't even have any contact with the complainants. I do not accept the accusations of organization leadership and fraud. They called me an organization leader after the Candan sisters. Let me also say where Nihal and Bahar were seen. I had met with an acquaintance regarding the opening of an aesthetic clinic. An acquaintance of mine insistently asked me to invite Nihal and Bahar Candan. I said that my relationship with them was bad and that they would definitely not come. Through a friend, I couldn't resist the insistence and had the girls invited. Bahar and Nihal Candan came. When they saw me, they moved away from there. They didn't even sit at the table. They don't even know who the people at the table are. There was no talk about cheap cars, expensive cars, or anything related to cars at all,” he said.

On the other hand, while the hearing was ongoing, Nihal Candan said she wanted to go to her grandmother's house and was tired. Bahar Candan reacted to prevent her sister and grandmother from leaving. Upon this, Nihal Candan said, “I will not come again to the hearing of this unstable girl.”

After the defenses, the court announced its interim decision and ruled for the continuation of the defendants' detention. The hearing was adjourned to Wednesday, September 18.

FROM THE INDICTMENT

The indictment prepared by the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office included 38 complainants, 1 complainant-suspect, and 21 defendants, including Nihal and Bahar Candan. The indictment also stated that the detained Gülnihal Çiçek was released with judicial control measures, taking into account the time she spent in detention. The indictment stated that the network led by Onur Apaydın and İlker Oflu defrauded citizens using the "sazan sarmalı" (carp spiral) method by claiming they were selling cheap cars. It was noted in the indictment that Bahar and Nihal Candan were part of the hierarchical and organic structure of the criminal organization. The indictment continued, stating that “the suspects had participated in various television programs for a long time in the past, had appeared in tabloid programs after becoming famous, and because they reached a large number of followers on social media platforms, they possessed the title of what is currently called a social media influencer and screen face, and therefore were figures recognized by large segments of society; due to this feature, they played an active role in deceiving victims at special meetings organized by the criminal organization for fraud activities.”

The indictment stated that organization leader Onur Apaydın carried out banking activities through Alisya Bahar Candan, who was in the position of 'secret accountant and treasurer' within the organization, and that the proceeds of crime were laundered.

On the other hand, suspect Hacı İsrafil Sağlam, who was responsible for procuring victims, stated in his testimony included in the indictment that he attended organization meetings, saying, “Everyone from the upper level attended the meetings. Field staff and lower levels could never attend. Everyone in the organization's upper management participated. I saw Nihal Candan at two of the meetings. Nihal Candan was the girlfriend of organization leader Onur Apaydın. Other individuals showed respect to Nihal Candan and acted at a distance. Topics related to the internal functioning of the organization and car buying and selling were discussed in the presence of Nihal Candan,” he stated.

In the indictment, it was requested that Bahar Candan be sentenced to a total of 14 to 44 years in prison, including 2 to 4 years for 'membership in a criminal organization' and 12 to 40 years for two counts of 'fraud by claiming to be a public official or an employee of a bank, insurance, or credit institution, or by claiming to be associated with these institutions and organizations', and that Nihal Candan be sentenced to 8 to 24 years in prison for the same crimes. On the other hand, prison sentences in varying proportions were requested for the other 20 suspects.