Özkan Yalım’s 'effective remorse statement' emerges: I gave money to Özgür Özel

Yalım made striking statements in his testimony. Here are the details of that statement:

In order to help with the payments of the footballers included in the Uşakspor squad, I ensured that 10 out of 24 footballers, as I recall, were shown as workers on the municipality payroll at certain periods, allowing them to receive salaries from there and having this salary offset against the amount that should have been paid to them. Again, as I recall, I helped with payments by showing the wives of 2 footballers as permanent personnel in the municipality in the same way. One of them actually worked at the municipality for a while, but the other did not work in any capacity.

Support was provided to the amateur basketball team in Uşak named 'İlkler Şehri' from the municipal budget in the amount of approximately 1.4 million TL per month for about 3-4 months. 400,000 TL of this 1.4 million TL paid monthly was used for the basketball team, but approximately 1 million TL of the money paid monthly was paid to offset the remaining payments of Uşakspor footballers. Uşakspor has a joint-stock company structure; its board of directors includes Deputy Mayor Halil Arslan, Hasan Doğukan Kurnaz, who was later appointed as the private secretary, Council Member Özhan Özgöbek, Necati Köksal, Council Member Akif Şanlı, and Council Member Yüksel Doğan.

Since I sometimes made the payments to be made to Uşakspor footballers from my own personal budget, I later paid a portion of the cash collected as donations to Uşakspor to my own company employees as salaries, corresponding to the payments I had previously made. This money is cash that came to Uşakspor under the name of donations. However, I was taking a portion of these incoming donations to cover the receivables remaining from the payments I had previously made in cash by withdrawing from my personal account. I may have used these to be paid to the employees of my own company, Yalım Garden. In some periods, when I was in a tight spot because I did not have money for the SGK (Social Security Institution) payments belonging to my personal company, Yalımlar, I also had instances where I took these from the money that came as donations to Uşakspor, offsetting them against my previous receivables, and deposited them into my own accounts to pay my company's insurance debts.

A person named Metin Çekçek is a wealthy businessman operating in the textile sector in Uşak and has previously made many contributions to the Uşak Municipality. Osman Nuri Vardı and Adem Tuğrul Kaya, who had previously purchased the lands located near the geothermal sites in Karaağaç Neighborhood, which are the subject of the municipal tender in the investigation, reached out to me and stated that they wanted to sell the lands back at the price they bought them for since the tender did not take place. I decided to buy these lands on my own behalf, but since I did not have enough money at that time, I borrowed 130,000 dollars from a person named Metin Çekçek in September 2025. I received this money in dollars, wrapped in a blanket, at the workplace belonging to Metin Çekçek's brother, Çetin Çekçek, in Uşak. To avoid any misunderstanding, Çetin Çekçek delivered the money to me by wrapping it in a blanket and stuffing it inside a brand-new blanket bag. I also handed him the paper I had prepared myself, which was signed and contained my declaration that I had received it as a loan. This document is with the person named Çetin Çekçek.

"I HAD A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP FOR 2-3 MONTHS"

I had a romantic relationship with a person named Ebru Yurtuluğ that lasted about 2-3 months. She worked at the Uşak Municipality for about 3 months. After I returned to Uşak from Ankara and became mayor, Ebru Yurtuluğ started working at the municipality and was working as a secretary in the private office. During the period we had a romantic relationship, I bought an apartment in Safir Sitesi with the intention of living together, and it was arranged so that 50 percent of the shares of this apartment would be registered in the title deed in my name and 50 percent in the name of Ebru Yurtuluğ. However, neither of us ever lived in this apartment. I paid for the apartment from my personal account.

I gave instructions for 4 carpets to be sent to this apartment from a company named 'Dokur Evi', which is a municipal subsidiary located in Uşak. I sent my driver, Murat Altınkaya, to Dokur Evi and told him to take delivery of the carpets and take them to the house in Safir Sitesi. Murat Altınkaya took the carpets and took them to the house, and the carpets were laid in this house. As I recall, I did not sign any document stating that these carpets were received. The carpets woven at the municipal Dokur Evi are hand-woven and are carpets unique to Uşak, and I recall that the square meter price was around 5,000 TL. I regret this and would like to pay for the damage caused.

There is an office registered in the name of my children in the Ankara Celal Bayar Plaza belonging to me, and there were some white goods and furniture in this office. After the office was rented, these items needed to be brought to Uşak because they would not be used. 4 Ford brand vehicles were purchased from the State Supply Office (DMO) on behalf of the Uşak Municipality, and these vehicles were taken delivery of in Ankara. We made such an arrangement so that the vehicles would not come empty by coinciding the process of bringing the vehicles to Uşak with the process of moving the items. My driver, Murat Altınkaya, and the municipal personnel with him performed the loading and unloading of the items. As I recall, these items were moved to my hotel in Uşak in 2 trips.

Again, since the items in the house in İzmir, which my son used during his student years, were idle, I gave instructions for them to be brought to my house in Uşak for the use of Uşakspor technical director Ergün Pembe. My driver, Murat Altınkaya, and municipal personnel went to İzmir with 2 vehicles belonging to the Uşak Municipality, took the items, and placed them in the house in Uşak. However, Ergün Pembe never actually used this house. I would like to cover the public damage caused because municipal vehicles and personnel were used in both incidents.

"IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT MUNICIPAL VEHICLES WERE USED FOR MY WIFE'S PERSONAL AFFAIRS"

The firm named Bayram Reklam, located in Uşak, is a firm that has previously received tenders on behalf of the municipality on different dates. In 2025, I bought 30 percent of the shares of the firm named 'satarız.com' in the name of my son, Özhan Yalım. It is true that advertisements for this firm were made on billboards belonging to me through Bayram Reklam, but the payments for these advertisements were made by my personal company.

It is true that various vehicles registered on behalf of the Uşak Municipality were allocated for the personal use of my wife and my young son, Anıl. Furthermore, my son Anıl Yiğithan, who is under 18, was taken to and from my summer house in Çeşme with a Vito brand vehicle belonging to the municipality. It is also true that vehicles belonging to the municipality were used for my wife's personal affairs. I would like to pay for the public damage arising from these situations.

The VIP conversion processes of the V300 brand vehicle purchased from Ankara to be used on my behalf within the Uşak Municipality were carried out by Dizayn Oto in Istanbul. Similarly, the VIP conversion processes of the Mercedes V300 brand vehicle allocated for the use of CHP Chairman Özgür Özel were also carried out by the same firm, and the conversion costs of both vehicles were paid by the Uşak Municipality. I know that in this process, the VIP conversion invoices for both vehicles were arranged as a single invoice and paid by the Uşak Municipality Social Facilities Company. I recall that approximately 25,000 Euros + VAT was paid for the vehicle belonging to the Uşak Municipality, and approximately 170,000 Euros + VAT was paid for the vehicle allocated for Özgür Özel's use. I regret these transactions and want to cover the public damage caused.

CHP deputies and deputy chairmen stay at my Yalım Garden Hotel in Uşak from time to time, but since no fee is charged to these people, no hotel registration is opened and no notification is made to the police. The guests who come sometimes stay overnight, and sometimes use the rooms for short-term use. Özgür Özel has also stayed at the hotel about 7-8 times due to our acquaintance from the past.

It is true that former Şehzadeler Mayor Gülşah Durbay and Özgür Özel ate together at the hotel's restaurant in the past, but I do not have definitive information about whether there was a relationship between them. In addition, during the pandemic period, upon Özgür Özel's request, I spoke with the Volkswagen dealership and reserved a Taigo model vehicle on behalf of his father, and I paid the price difference of approximately 180,000 TL from my own account. Furthermore, in 2022, I sent gift bags to Özgür Özel's family and also gifted him a watch.

"I GAVE CASH TO ÖZGÜR ÖZEL"

At the end of 2023, I gave a total of 1 million 200 thousand TL in cash to Özgür Özel to be used in the congresses held before the CHP convention. I left 200,000 TL of this money at his house in Manisa, and I delivered 1 million TL to a person named Demirkan, a close friend of his, in Denizli.

After the fines were imposed on entertainment centers, the business owners stated that they wanted to make donations to Uşakspor. During this process, I borrowed money from some people for vehicle purchases and learned that the business owners would make regular donations to Uşakspor. I think these issues are related to the matters mentioned in the statements.

The phone that was in Seher Akay's possession on the day I was taken into custody belongs to me. I had given it to her to take to the municipality, and she has no criminal intent whatsoever.

After the 1.5 million TL check given to the municipality by a person named Ali Rıza Demir was not accepted by the footballer, I may have cashed this check and used the money for my personal affairs.

I did not gift the computer belonging to the municipality that was seized at Ebru Yurtuluğ's house to her. I think she may not have returned it after leaving her post.

I learned that I was expelled from the party without being given a defense period after the letter that came to me from the CHP headquarters while I was in prison. I think that although I had previously submitted a resignation petition, it was not taken into account.

Within the scope of effective remorse, I have sincerely explained everything I know. I regret mixing my private life with my duty, and I want to pay for the public damage caused. My defense consists of this."