Lawsuit filed against journalist Timur Soykan over wedding report

Legal proceedings have begun against journalist Timur Soykan following his reports regarding the wedding of Mustafa Aydın, Vice President of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).

On September 19, 2024, Timur Soykan published a report concerning the attendance of executives from institutions under regulatory oversight at the wedding of BDDK Vice President Mustafa Aydın and Nilüfer Özmen, held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Istanbul. Soykan alleged that senior executives from banks and various financial institutions attended the wedding and that the value of the gifts presented reached high amounts.

Soykan shared these allegations with the public in his column in the BirGün newspaper. The report claimed that some bank executives had set budgets for wedding gifts, that the gift amounts from rival companies were being tracked, and that gifts ranging from 150 thousand TL to 350 thousand TL were presented.

Following the wedding that was the subject of the reports, BDDK Vice President Mustafa Aydın filed a criminal complaint against Timur Soykan on March 5, 2025. In the complaint petition, it was argued that the bank and financial executives who attended the wedding were part of Aydın's "personal social circle," and it was alleged that the reports did not reflect the truth and violated his personal rights.

The complaint requested that Timur Soykan be sentenced to a total of up to 25 years in prison on various charges. Aydın also claimed that he was insulted due to his public office.

The indictment prepared as part of the investigation included charges related to Timur Soykan's publication of the wedding invitation and his continued reporting on the matter. The prosecution argued that the publications made by Soykan should be considered within the scope of the wedding as a "private life" matter.

Timur Soykan, for his part, stated that his reports were within the scope of journalistic activity and that the relationships of public officials with the institutions they regulate are open to public scrutiny. Soykan also announced to the public that among the names attending the wedding was Erkan Kork, the owner of Payfix and PozitifBank, who was being tried for illegal betting charges during the same period.

Following these statements, a second lawsuit was filed against Soykan. The court decided to hear both cases together on the grounds that they are connected.

One of the assessments included by the prosecution in the indictment was that Timur Soykan committed slander to ensure an investigation was opened, "knowing that Mustafa Aydın was innocent." However, it was observed that there was no separate administrative or criminal investigation report in the file regarding the gifts presented at the wedding or the allegations of ethical violations.

News Source: 12punto