Ismail Çanak's testimony in the Cem Küçük investigation revealed: How was the organization for the money flow structured?

The prosecutor's testimony of Ismail Çanak, who surrendered after an arrest warrant was issued against him in the file conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and reflected in the public eye as the "Cem Küçük investigation," has emerged. Çanak, who was released with judicial control conditions following the interrogation, responded to questions regarding the money movements in his account through organization, advertising, and PR activities.

Çanak argued that he did not use his accounts for illegal betting purposes and did not engage in betting. Stating that he knows Tahir Sarıkaya and Cem Küçük, Çanak said that he had money exchanges with both individuals for different reasons.

CRYPTO ACCOUNT AND MONEY MOVEMENTS

Çanak was asked about the findings that a total of 16 million 387 thousand TL had entered his account via Paribu Teknoloji A.Ş., while 35 million 597 thousand TL had been sent from his account. Stating that he had a crypto account for a period, Çanak claimed that there were no high-amount money inflows in this account.

Çanak explained that he received services from a pasta-pizza company in Italy within the scope of establishment expenses, equipment procurement, and training for Macarna Gıda A.Ş., which he stated operates in Ankara. He expressed that he made the payments via a crypto account due to the difficulty of transferring money from Turkey.

The finding that a total of 57 million 718 thousand TL had entered his account from Serdar Özyurt, and 491 thousand TL had exited his account, was also asked to Çanak. Çanak said that a PR event agreement was signed between Özyurt and his firm in 2024, and that the incoming money was within the scope of "PR event organization fees."

Çanak stated that within this scope, he organized concert events for Demet Akalın and various artists in Hatay, and that payments were sent to his account for aid during the month of Ramadan and for work aimed at children affected by the earthquake. For the money coming from the companies Anatolian Medya, Maccaarna Gıda, and Aras Tanıtım Medya, he stated that these companies belonged to him.

"I INTRODUCED CEM KÜÇÜK TO SERDAR ÖZYURT"

Çanak said that he has known Tahir Sarıkaya for 25 years and that he served as his assistant for 15 years during his program on Beyaz TV. Relating the money movements between him and Sarıkaya to program, event, flight, and hotel payments, Çanak said, "I did not send money in exchange for any news coverage."

Stating that the company belonged to Serdar Özyurt's brother, İhsan Özyurt, regarding the 6 million 200 thousand TL that came into his account from Asi Grup İnşaat A.Ş., Çanak said the payment was made within the scope of advertising work. He explained the 3 million 896 thousand TL from İhsan Özyurt with promotional film shoots, and the 3 million 638 thousand TL from Ares Grup Savunma Şirketi with consultancy activities.

In his testimony, Çanak said, "I introduced Cem Küçük to Serdar Özyurt. I did not receive money from Serdar Özyurt in return for this. All the money I gave to Cem Küçük was paid in exchange for his participation in municipal events."