Journalist and 12punto columnist Müyesser Yıldız reports from the Bora Kaplan trial: 'Debt collection' accusation against Sinan Ateş murder suspect

Müyesser YILDIZ 12punto.com.tr

The trial continued for a total of 38 defendants, including Bora Kaplan, who is alleged to be an organized crime leader, and his wife and relatives, on charges of "laundering assets derived from crime."

The second session of the trial, held by the Ankara 77th Criminal Court of First Instance at the Sincan Prison complex, was also attended by Bora Kaplan's wife, Nazlı Kaplan, who is being tried without arrest.

TRIAL BEGAN WITH SAVAŞ AKÇAY'S DEFENSE

The hearing began with the defense of Savaş Akçay, who connected via SEGBİS from Dinar Prison. Stating that MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) made assessments based only on Social Security Institution (SGK) records, Akçay said, "I have worked continuously for 27 years. I have absolutely not laundered any money; all my work is legal." He claimed that his companies were seized irregularly without a MASAK report being obtained. Savaş Akçay stated the following:

"According to the MASAK report, I transferred one of my companies to Bora Kaplan's sister, Arzu Bulut. This is not true. The reason we are here is this error and the fact that Arzu Bulut is Bora Kaplan's sister. FETÖ companies were also seized, but family assistance was allowed. In our case, let alone our commercial life, our family life was interfered with. I still haven't understood which years I am being accused of. Even a plot of land inherited from my father in 1999 was placed under a lien."

While the defenses were continuing, Bora Kaplan's wife, non-detained defendant Nazlı Kaplan, arrived at the courtroom and stated during her identification, "I am married, have 4 children, and am a middle school graduate. I have no monthly income."

The second defendant to present his defense was Tansel Aktan, who was decided to be released in the Ayhan Bora Kaplan criminal organization case but is detained in the money laundering case. It was revealed that Samira Ağayeva Aktan, the wife of Tansel Aktan, who denied the accusations against him, is also being tried as a non-detained defendant in this case. Tansel Aktan explained why the company was in his wife's name, saying, "My wife is Azerbaijani. She has no one here. The house is in my name. I put the company in her name so she would feel safe, but all work and transactions belong to me."

The defenses of 12 detained defendants, including Tansel Aktan, were completed, and the court moved on to the defenses of the non-detained defendants.

ABK WAS THE GUARANTOR, BUT

A striking allegation came up during the defense of non-detained defendant Ali Cem Ersoy. He explained that when they could not agree on transferring his venue to Tansel Aktan and Nihal Akbaba for 6 million along with his partner Burak Aydemir, Bora Kaplan called and said, "Nihal Akbaba is a family friend of mine. Settle for 5 million." He stated that they agreed, but after the transfer, his 2 million receivable was not paid, adding, "I have not committed any crime; in fact, I should be the victim in this file."

Upon this, detained defendant Tansel Aktan said they had agreed to pay the 2 million with sponsorship fees they would receive from liquor companies, but they did not pay when they learned that Ali Cem Ersoy had already received this money from the liquor companies, and asked the following question:

"Did he make Mustafa Ensar Aykal, the then-Chief of the Homicide Bureau who is being tried in the Sinan Ateş murder case, a debt collector and send him to us for this money? After we explained the situation to Mustafa Ensar Aykal, why didn't he file a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office against us?"

Ali Cem Ersoy denied this allegation, stating that he did not know Mustafa Ensar Aykal and that he did not have time to file a criminal complaint due to the transfer of the venue to the TMSF (Savings Deposit Insurance Fund) and his subsequent detention.

Ali Cem Ersoy also answered Bora Kaplan's questions, such as "Did he accept my bail because he was afraid of me, or because he found me reliable? Did I have any threats or pressure for him to agree to 5 million?" by saying, "His position gave confidence. There was no threat or pressure."

FAMILY-WIDE TRIAL

It was observed that along with the wives of Bora Kaplan and Tansel Aktan, Kaplan's and Fethi Koyuncu's sisters, Arzu Bulut and Betül Koyuncu, were also defendants in the case. In her defense, Arzu Bulut said, "I am here because I am my brother's sister," and stated that the company was transferred to her for a short time due to a debt between her husband and brother-in-law, that her brother had no knowledge of this, but that she was kept under house arrest for 6 months while she had a 6-month-old baby because of this.

Betül Koyuncu, the sister of defendant Fethi Koyuncu, stated that she was accused on the grounds that the Mercedes registered in her name actually belonged to her brother, and reported that she had been working since 2012 and bought the vehicle with her own earnings. Koyuncu also noted that she had not even heard the name of Bora Kaplan until the operation footage.

WE WILL FILE A COMPLAINT AFTER THIS

In the afternoon part of the hearing, the name of former Homicide Bureau Chief Mustafa Ensar Aykal, a suspect in the Sinan Ateş murder, came up once again.

Ali Cem Ersoy's partner, Burak Aydemir, also said in his defense that they could not get the 2 million from Tansel Aktan and Nihal Akbaba, that they did not file a criminal complaint due to their good intentions, but that they would do so after the conversations here. Tansel Aktan asked Aydemir whether they had sent Mustafa Ensar Aykal to them for debt collection. Burak Aydemir replied, "I don't know him at all. I have never seen him face to face. I learned about this issue a week after calling Mr. Tansel. I heard his name here for the first time."

JUDGE GRANTED EXEMPTION "WITH A BLEEDING HEART"

Moments that made the Judge and the courtroom smile occurred during the defense of non-detained defendant Hüseyin Nergis.

Explaining that he was accused of renting his A-class urban planner card to Barış Kurt because he could not make ends meet with his retirement pension, Hüseyin Nergis smiled when he said he usually ends his speeches with a poem, joke, or fable, but would not do so because it would not fit the solemnity of the court. Nergis's lawyer, Baran Yanık, also said, "There is 17 thousand liras that came because he rented his license from Barış Kurt. This is the reason for his trial. Yachts, clubs, and millions have been talked about here for two days," and requested that Nergis be exempted from the hearings. Upon this, Hüseyin Nergis took the floor and said that his involvement in such a case was as ironic as "Bekri Mustafa becoming the imam of the Blue Mosque." The following dialogue then took place:

Judge: We will grant the defendant an exemption with a bleeding heart. If he doesn't attend the hearings, I suppose we will feel his absence.

Defendant Cemil Kumaşçıoğlu: We were together in the detention cell. He also sings very beautiful folk songs.

Judge: Let's not get into those at all. If the lawyers allow, I don't think jokes or poems will be considered within the scope of the defense.

Lawyers: It could be in a case like this.

FUGITIVE SECRET WITNESS OWED 20 THOUSAND DOLLARS

Kürşat Tan Hakbilir, the owner of the jewelry store where Bora Kaplan's money was allegedly laundered, stated that Bora Kaplan's relatives bought gold from him, saying, "My annual turnover is 500 million. The total money I received from the 15 people here is 15 million liras." Explaining that Bora Kaplan once asked him for 3.5 million liras in cash and that they were estranged for 8 months when he could not give it, Hakbilir noted that the fugitive secret witness Serdar Sertçelik, who testified against him and caused him to remain in detention for 5 months, did not pay the 20 thousand dollar debt he owed him.

The last non-detained defendant to give a defense in today's session was Bora Kaplan's wife, Nazlı Kaplan.

Nazlı Kaplan stated that she did not accept the accusations and said, "Whatever I did, I did on my husband's instructions. I don't know or recognize anyone here except for a few people."

The trial will continue tomorrow.

News Source: 12punto

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