Testimony of lawyer Mehmet Yıldırım, pointed to by Özgür Özel, emerges: 'I received 150,000 US dollars'

In his testimony to the prosecutor, lawyer Yıldırım said regarding the incident where Özel claimed, "We have an audio recording," "We estimate that the audio recording in question was taken by Yener Torunlar’s son, Doğukan. The audio recording mentioned in the press may be related to a conversation between Doğukan and me." 

Yıldırım stated, "I think Doğukan recorded this with an external phone. In the conversation in question, as far as I remember, I mentioned that I saw it as legally possible for Yener Torunlar, the father, to be released if Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, who is a fugitive, were to come forward."

Mehmet Yıldırım reported that he received 2 million TL as an attorney's fee from Naim Erol Özgüner, the Head of the IMM Information Processing Department, who was released after Yıldırım had his own house searched voluntarily during the IMM investigation, and whose Chief of Staff Kadriye Kasapoğlu was arrested following her testimony. Yıldırım also reported that he brought Cem Çelik, who claimed to be the financial advisor for the companies of IMM Sports Club President Fatih Keleş, to the prosecutor himself, and that he received 150,000 US dollars from him as an attorney's fee.

Yıldırım said the following in his testimony:

"I am being slandered. It is true that I am a lawyer. Throughout my life, I have never received money from anyone outside of my profession. I have not used anyone's name or reputation. I definitely have no involvement in the mentioned IMM file. My first involvement in this file began on April 27, 2025, with the detention of Naim Erol Özgüner. The person for whom I hold power of attorney in the file in question is Naim Erol Özgüner. I was his lawyer even before these files. He was taken and arrested as part of the IMM operation. I believe he is innocent. He has benefited from effective remorse. I received 2 million TL + VAT from Naim Erol Özgüner as an attorney's fee. I also issued the invoices and receipts for that.

"I BROUGHT CEM ÇELİK TO THE PROSECUTOR"

Cem Çelik came to me one day. He said he heard there was an arrest warrant for him and wanted me to be his lawyer. I told him I could provide legal assistance, but I did not know his position within the scope of the IMM file and asked him to explain how he was connected to the actions. He said he was the financial advisor for the companies of Murat Gülibrahimoğlu and Fatih Keleş, and that he could present the receipts containing the 125 million TL money transfer and the companies to be transferred to Fatih Keleş. I came to the Istanbul Courthouse and explained to the relevant case prosecutor in his office what Cem Çelik told me, within the framework of the attorney-client relationship and the legal framework. The relevant case prosecutor set a day. On the day he set, I brought Cem Çelik and presented the relevant receipts to his file. A few months later, he was arrested for declaring incomplete and misleading information. Because Cem Çelik was Murat Gülibrahimoğlu's financial advisor, he brought individuals named Yağmur, Adem, Volkan, and Yener to give statements. During these processes, I was forced to meet with the relevant case prosecutor in his office.

"I RECEIVED 150,000 US DOLLARS AS AN ATTORNEY'S FEE"

"I received 150,000 US dollars from Cem Çelik as an attorney's fee for all these legal proceedings. Furthermore, I did not demand a single lira from Yener, and I have never gone to meet with him. Prison entries are already being recorded. There are more than 70 people mentioned in the press who have benefited from effective remorse. I have not met with anyone other than the people I mentioned above. I have not acted as a lawyer for anyone. I have not met with anyone's family. I did not make such a promise to anyone in exchange for money. As part of my profession, it is mandatory for me to discuss the legal status of my clients with judges and prosecutors in their offices within a legal framework in order to protect the interests of my clients. Throughout my professional life, I have never met with any prosecutor outside. It is not even possible for me to receive instructions from the investigation prosecutors."

"THE AUDIO RECORDING IS RELATED TO A CONVERSATION BETWEEN DOĞUKAN AND ME"

"We estimate that the audio recording in question was taken by Yener Torunlar’s son, Doğukan. The audio recording mentioned in the press may be related to a conversation between Doğukan and me. I think Doğukan recorded this with an external phone. I definitely do not have any illegal conversation. In the conversation in question, as far as I remember, I mentioned that I saw it as legally possible for Yener Torunlar, the father, to be released if Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, who is a fugitive, were to come forward. The reason I gave such advice is because Yener Torunlar is the security or administrative manager of Murat Gülibrahimoğlu. There was definitely no talk of money between us.

"MY CONVERSATIONS MAY HAVE BEEN RECORDED"

Murat Gülibrahimoğlu is still a fugitive. My conversations with my clients may have been recorded. While I do not know what was recorded, I definitely stand by them. If a TL or any money, benefit, or anything you can think of is mentioned in the mentioned audio recordings, I will resign as of this moment. I definitely do not have the possibility of having the conversations that appeared in the press in an irregular manner within the client relationship. I did not have such conversations. I did not direct anyone. The people who came to me are as I described above."