AHBAP audit concluded with a clean report issued during the Yerlikaya era: Initiated during the Soylu era...

Haluk Levent was taken into custody as part of an investigation launched into the AHBAP Association. While Levent faces accusations of "violating the Law on Associations," "laundering assets derived from crime," and "membership in a criminal organization," allegations of illegal betting involving millions of dollars are also on the agenda.

The AHBAP Association, which came to the forefront with its relief activities following the February 6, 2023 earthquakes, had also become a focal point of political debates. The process began on February 14, 2023, with statements from MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli targeting AHBAP. One day later, the then-Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu also emphasized that aid campaigns should only be conducted under the coordination of AFAD, stating that necessary actions would be taken against those attempting to act in parallel with the state.

Following these statements, the Ministry of Interior launched an audit of the AHBAP Association. AHBAP President Haluk Levent also confirmed that the audit had begun in a statement he made on his social media account.

INVESTIGATION COMPLETED DURING THE YERLIKAYA ERA

However, while the audit process was ongoing, Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya was appointed as Minister of Interior, replacing Süleyman Soylu.

According to a report in Gazete Pencere, Mehmet Sağlam was included in the staff of deputy ministers that Yerlikaya formed after taking office. Haluk Levent announced on his social media account that he met with Sağlam on October 5, 2023. In his post, Levent also stated that he and Mehmet Sağlam were friends from Adana Karşıyaka High School.

Approximately two months after this meeting, on December 7, 2023, Haluk Levent announced that the audit initiated during the Soylu era had been completed. Stating that the investigation conducted by the Ministry of Interior's General Directorate of Relations with Civil Society regarding the donations made to AHBAP after the February 6 earthquakes had ended, Levent expressed that the association had come out of the audit "with its head held high."

MEHMET SAĞLAM DENIES FRIENDSHIP

Thus, the audit initiated during the term of Süleyman Soylu was completed with a positive report during the ministry of Ali Yerlikaya. It was noted that the audit yielded a positive result shortly after the meeting between Haluk Levent and Deputy Minister Mehmet Sağlam, who is his schoolmate.

STATEMENT FROM MEHMET SAĞLAM

While confirming that he and Haluk Levent graduated from the same school, Mehmet Sağlam denied the claim that they were friends.

The statement made by Sağlam on his social media account is as follows:

"This statement has become necessary due to untrue and misleading claims regarding myself that have appeared in some social media posts. I saw the person named Haluk Levent for the first and last time in my life during a visit he made following the February 6 earthquakes regarding the 6 village houses that the Ahbap Association had built in Karakaş village of Arıcak district in Elazığ province. I learned that day that he had graduated from Adana Karşıyaka High School. As claimed, we were not school or classmates during the same period.

Furthermore; the Ministry of Interior's General Directorate of Relations with Civil Society, to which the Ahbap Association is affiliated, was not a unit reporting to me as Deputy Minister of Interior during my tenure, as claimed, and it never has been. I would like to specifically state that I will resort to legal means against those who distort the facts and spread false and baseless allegations."

WHAT HAPPENED?

The statements of Haluk Levent, who was taken into custody, regarding former Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu and other political figures were not recorded in the interrogation report. Haluk Levent stated on his social media account that "they are not allowing me to speak."

In his statement, Levent indicated that the accusations made against him were not true and that in such a situation, the Ministry of Interior's chief inspectors should resign first.

News Source: 12punto