Gülaylar Group Chairman of the Board Mehmet İlhan Gülay was arrested after being taken into custody as part of a bribery and zoning change investigation conducted by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB). It is alleged that Gülay had the project approved by paying bribes during a zoning change process initiated during the AK Party era. The number 55 report regarding the relevant zoning change bears the signatures of three AK Party members. However, Gülaylar is being associated with the İmamoğlu era.
According to information emerging within the scope of the investigation, the zoning change process in question was initiated during the term of former İBB Mayor Mevlüt Uysal. While a mosque was later added to the project at the request of AK Party Group Deputy Chairman Tevfik Göksu, land was also transferred to the İBB. It was noted that the zoning change report was accepted with the signatures of AK Party council members, and a thank-you speech was delivered by an AK Party Ataşehir Council Member following the vote.
MEHMET GÜLAY'S STATEMENTS
Following his arrest, Mehmet Gülay gave three separate statements within 24 hours. In his first statement, Gülay said, "There is no bribery. The zoning work began in the AKP era," but in a subsequent statement, he said, "They demanded bribes. They forced me to sign the protocol," and listed several names. However, in his supplementary statement, he removed some of these names and added new ones. These inconsistencies have increased suspicions that the investigation is being conducted under pressure.
News Source: 12punto
