Aziz İhsan Aktaş's testimony revealed: Is there a connection to Rıza Akpolat?

Within the scope of an investigation launched into a criminal organization in Istanbul, the testimony of Aziz İhsan Aktaş, who is accused of leading the organization, has been obtained. In the investigation where 39 people, including Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, were referred to court with a request for arrest, Aktaş denied the allegations against him.

Suspect Aktaş, who was referred to the judgeship by the prosecutor's office at the Istanbul Courthouse with a request for arrest on charges of 'establishing and managing a criminal organization', 'being a member of a criminal organization', 'bribery', 'rigging a tender', 'rigging the performance of an act', and 'laundering assets', denied the allegations against him in his prosecutor's statement.

HE DENIED OWNING THE FIRMS SUBJECT TO CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS

Aktaş, who is alleged to be the ringleader of the criminal organization, stated in his testimony that although it is claimed that he is the de facto owner of the firms registered to his siblings and relatives, this is not true.

Stating that the firms Elif LPG and Provek İlaç belong to him, Aktaş expressed that there are firms named Perla Denizcilik and Güven Otoyol İşletmeleri, in which Elif LPG is a partner, and that the other firms belong to whoever they appear to belong to in the trade registry.

Aktaş claimed that he did not know the firm named İldeniz Organizasyon, did not know its owner, and was unaware that the company in question had received tenders from the Beşiktaş Municipality.

WHAT IS HIS RESPONSE TO THE ALLEGATIONS REGARDING BEŞİKTAŞ MUNICIPALITY?

Stating that he met Önder Gedik, Chairman of Beşiktaş Municipality's Beltaş İşletmecilik Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, at the land registry office, Aktaş argued that he knows Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat but has no face-to-face meetings or acquaintance with him, and that he has no acquaintance with Ahmet Özer, who was removed from his post as Mayor of Esenyurt.

Claiming that he had no knowledge of the tenders held by the Esenyurt Municipality, Aktaş stated the following:

'My siblings' firms may have received tenders from institutions such as İSFALT, İETT, Beşiktaş Municipality, and İGDAŞ, but I do not know the processes. I have received tenders from the Beşiktaş Municipality on behalf of Elif LPG. I do not know how many I have received. I have no information regarding the sale of vehicles belonging to Rıza Akpolat's firm to my siblings' firms. I do not even know if the vehicle is currently in my firm. It is being talked about that I and my siblings have received many tenders from municipalities. There are other families like this.'

Arguing that he did not receive any information about the operation from anyone and that there was no possibility of him fleeing, Aktaş added the following:

'I have never been involved in anything illegal or manipulation in the work I do; I am doing my job as a prudent merchant and as a father of 5 children. I do not accept the criminal organization allegations. I conduct my business entirely on a legal basis. I come from a family that has been a victim of terrorism in the past. Therefore, it is impossible for me to take work from municipalities associated with terrorism. This will be seen when investigated.'

Aktaş did not accept the accusations and requested to be released.

On the other hand, the prosecutor's office noted that the number of suspects detained in the investigation was 40, and that 31 were referred to the judgeship with a request for arrest, and 9 with a request for judicial control.

News Source: AA