New development in the Cem Küçük investigation: Fugitive suspect surrenders! Said, 'I will tell what I know'

A new development has occurred in the investigation where journalist Cem Küçük was arrested on charges of "publicly disseminating misleading information." İsmail Çanak, who had an active arrest warrant issued against him as part of the file conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, went to the courthouse today and surrendered.

It was learned that while surrendering, Çanak said, "I want to tell what I know." Çanak was taken into custody by gendarmerie teams at the courthouse.

ÇANAK HAD COME TO THE FORE WITH TAŞIRKAYA'S TESTIMONY

İsmail Çanak had come to the fore with allegations included in the prosecutor's testimony of Tahir Sarıkaya, a Beyaz TV programmer who is also under arrest as part of the same investigation.

It was stated that Çanak is known as the "chief of staff" for Serdar Özyurt, who is known for placing himself on the cover of Forbes magazine through photo editing. It was learned that there is also an arrest warrant for Özyurt as part of the investigation.

In his prosecutor's testimony, Sarıkaya had claimed that he had engaged in over 300 money transfers with Çanak. He had explained the money movements in question as "family relations," "mutual debts," and "events he attended as a speaker."

WHY WAS CEM KÜÇÜK ARRESTED?

Cem Küçük has been in custody since July 31 on charges of "publicly disseminating misleading information."

It was reported that there were complaints against Küçük alleging that he made social media posts in exchange for financial gain from certain business people. It was learned that some statements reflected in the media regarding the judicial process concerning the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality were also included in the investigation file.

At the prosecutor's office, Küçük was also asked about money transfers he made from certain individuals. Küçük argued that some of these payments were debts, while others were fees received in exchange for professional services such as translation.

Küçük prepared and hosted the "Cem Küçük ile Günaydın Türkiye" program on TGRT, and his columns were published in the Türkiye newspaper. Küçük made his final broadcast for both organizations on June 29, 2026.

Announcing on July 27 that he had left TGRT and the Türkiye newspaper, where he had worked for 10 years, Küçük argued that the allegations made against him did not reflect the truth.

5 MILLION LIRA TRANSFER IN MASAK REPORT

In the MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) report prepared as part of the investigation, it was stated that a total of 35 million 132 thousand liras entered Cem Küçük's bank accounts between 2019 and 2026, while 7 million 52 thousand liras were withdrawn from his accounts.

According to the report, 14 million 474 thousand liras of the money inflows consisted of deposit returns or loans, while 8 million 844 thousand liras consisted of salaries and royalties received from various media organizations.

Furthermore, it was determined that a total of 5 million 9 thousand 300 liras were transferred to Küçük's accounts from 23 individuals and companies.

The financial audit report included an assessment that the transaction descriptions for these transfers were insufficient and showed an inconsistency with Küçük's financial profile. The report also conveyed the assessment that these money movements did not align with the account profile of a person working as a journalist and earning a salary.

Noting that the descriptions "debt" and "debt repayment" were used in some transactions, the report recorded that the frequency and amounts of the transactions were at a level that could not be explained by ordinary personal debt-credit relationships.