'They seized Haydar Dümen's property': She was forced to abandon her 5-story building

BirGün columnist and journalist Timur Soykan, in his article titled "They seized Haydar Dümen's property," stated: "On the day Haydar Dümen died, his wife lost their 5-story building in Istanbul to a gang. The indictment, prepared 3 years later, describes the mind-boggling methods used by the gang members."

Highlights from Soykan's article:

Psychiatrist Dr. Haydar Dümen, known for his writings and witty commentary on sexual health, and his wife Gülten Dümen were admitted to Istanbul Beykent University Hospital on January 17, 2022, due to Covid-19. During this period, Gülten Dümen decided to sell their 5-story building in Cihangir, Istanbul. According to her statement, they had significant debts and were facing the threat of foreclosure. They did not have the money to pay the hospital expenses. Haydar Dümen's children from his previous marriage had claimed that while their father was intubated, Gülten Dümen was trying to sell the building urgently to secure the inheritance.

Directed to a loan shark by a neighbor

Gülten Dümen had asked Gökhan Ataş, a neighbor at their summer house in Silivri, to find a buyer for the 5-story building. Gökhan Ataş said he could not find a buyer for the house, but that a friend he trusted very much in Silivri could lend them money. He said:

“I trust him, I know his whole family, he would never do anything wrong. If you want, let's entrust the house to that friend, he will give you the money you need. You will get rid of your troubles and pay off your debt when it is sold.”

How the loan shark trap began

According to the indictment regarding the incident, neighbor Gökhan Ataş introduced Gülten Dümen to Tanju Aksu, a loan shark in Silivri. The agreement was as follows: The couple, Haydar and Gülten Dümen, would transfer the building, worth approximately 45 million TL, to Emrah Erduvan, one of Tanju Aksu's men, via a contract. Tanju Aksu would give Gülten Dümen 5 million liras for their urgent cash needs and debts, and would receive 7.5 million TL after the house was sold. In the meantime, he would make the payments to clear the debts on the house that were preventing its sale. He would pay the remaining money to Gülten Dümen. While Gülten Dümen was transferring the title deed of the building to Emrah Erduvan, a contract would be drawn up and the rights in the agreement would be signed.

On February 10, 2022, 60-year-old Gülten Dümen arrived at the Silivri Land Registry Office in a wheelchair. Her illness was ongoing. She was accompanied by her assistant and her driver, Mustafa Genç. 92-year-old Haydar Dümen, whose condition was more severe, was fighting for his life in the hospital. Emrah Erduvan, to whom the building was to be transferred, was at the land registry office, but Tanju Aksu had not arrived. He had said he would get the contract from the lawyer and bring it. This wait lasted a long time; Tanju Aksu called again and said, "I'm stuck in traffic, let's not miss the appointment time, it will be difficult to get another appointment." Trusting Tanju Aksu, Gülten Dümen answered "Yes, I have received it" to the official's question in the deed room, "Have you received the payment?" and approved the 30 million TL sale. In reality, she had not received the money. Gülten Dümen, whose illness was worsening, asked her driver to take her home.

After driver Mustafa Genç dropped Gülten Dümen off at her home, he went to Tanju Aksu's office. However, Tanju Aksu said he did not like the contract and had sent it back with the lawyer. The news of Haydar Dümen's death arrived on the day the building was sold.

The next day, Tanju Aksu came to the house where Gülten Dümen was accepting condolences and said they needed to take precautions so that Haydar Dümen's children from his previous marriage would not cause trouble. He had prepared a document stating "I received 30 million TL in cash" and wanted her to sign it. According to the statements of witnesses who came to offer condolences, Tanju Aksu was sitting next to Gülten Dümen while she signed the document, and three people were standing behind the woman.

The gang did not neglect to build trust with small payments. Tanju Aksu gave Gülten Dümen 30,000 TL, saying, "You might need it." He also said they had paid the remaining 3 days of hospital expenses after Haydar Dümen's death. At that time, news appeared in the media that Haydar Dümen had transferred his real estate to a real estate agent before he died.

They stalled her, claimed the building had debts

During this process, Tanju Aksu, who did not provide the contract, was using stalling tactics. He was constantly claiming that the building had too many debts from the past. The inheritance dispute between Haydar Dümen's 3 children from his previous marriage and Gülten Dümen had been reflected in the newspapers. The loan shark network was also using this to tell the woman that they had to sell the house as soon as possible.

Months passed with stalls about the building being sold. Finally, losing her patience, Gülten Dümen said in May 2022 that she would sell the building herself and that she had found a buyer.

Tanju Aksu, on the other hand, had prepared a counter-move. He explained that he had found a good buyer who would purchase the building.

"This customer wants proof that you have no receivables. You will apply for mediation as if you haven't received part of your money from Emrah. You will agree on 8 million TL at the mediation. Emrah will send you 8 million TL from the bank. You will withdraw that money and give it to us in cash," he said.

Gülten Dümen did as he said. In fact, the gang was creating legal documents and account movements that would allow them to seize the building.

Threatened when she asked for her money

However, the sale still did not take place. When Gülten Dümen asked for her money, the network started the threat phase.

Tanju Aksu would frequently show up unannounced at Gülten Dümen's house, shouting, "I spent 6 million TL to put this building up for sale," and making threats.

When Gülten Dümen said again in June 2022, "I found a buyer for the building," Tanju Aksu replied, "We sold the house to someone else for 21 million 500 thousand TL." The sale had taken place a month earlier, on May 25, 2022. However, they had not paid Gülten Dümen the money they had agreed upon.

Gülten Dümen went to Tanju Aksu's office in Silivri many times with her driver, Mustafa Genç. During this time, Mustafa Genç was recording their conversations with his mobile phone. During one meeting, Emrah Erduvan noticed that Mustafa Genç was recording audio.

"They held a gun to my head"

Mustafa Genç described what happened afterwards in his statement:

"Two of Tanju Aksu's men pulled out guns and held them to my head. Ms. Gülten was very scared and shouted, 'Don't do it.' Tanju Aksu's other men came inside. They threatened to kill us and deleted the audio recording. Emrah Erduvan punched me on the nose. Ms. Gülten fainted at that moment. I lay on top of her so they wouldn't beat her. They continued to beat me there. Then Tanju said, 'Throw them out. If they die here, they'll be our problem.' I picked up Ms. Gülten and took her out of there, and took her home."

They still had not gone to the police in the hope of getting their money.

"They stole the safe in the house"

Gülten Dümen had also not been able to remove her belongings from the building in Cihangir. According to her claim, Tanju Aksu's men who entered the building stole the safe, which also contained jewelry. According to the indictment, similar loan sharking and fraud activities by Tanju Aksu, his relatives, and his men had been detected before. Mustafa Akışık and Muharrem Göçmen had borrowed money from the loan shark network in exchange for interest. They, too, had transferred the real estate they owned to Tanju Aksu's company named Salvator, thinking they would get it back. The network had created the impression of a real sale by making money enter and exit bank accounts under various pretexts and had seized these properties. They had later sold these properties. While the investigation was ongoing, 6 more victims were identified, and it was stated in the indictment that a separate investigation was being conducted on this matter.

"Connected to the police"

Victims and witnesses alleged in their statements that Tanju Aksu acted in partnership with some police officers and members of the judiciary. They claimed that they had established interest-based relationships with Tanju Aksu by naming numerous police officers. Several witnesses stated in their testimonies that Tanju Aksu said, "Police chiefs are my friends. No one can come after me." They even alleged that Tanju Aksu had operations carried out against people he had hostilities with, and set up traps, using these connections in the police and judiciary. According to one witness statement, everyone in Silivri knew that Tanju Aksu and his family were involved in loan sharking. Tanju Aksu's lawyer was a former Deputy District Chairman of the AKP in Bakırköy. This person had also left the police force and become a lawyer. He had facilitated the connection between Tanju Aksu and the police.

On May 20, 2024, an operation was launched on charges of loan sharking, fraud, establishing, managing, and being a member of a criminal organization, theft, and plunder. Tanju Aksu has not yet been caught. 7 people, mostly his relatives, were arrested. Rıza Aksu, who was among those arrested, was a CHP municipal council member of the Silivri Municipality. With the indictment completed by the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on November 19, 2024, a lawsuit was filed against 9 defendants.

News Source: 12punto