Testimony of lawyer Gökhan Taşkapan obtained in 'money counting' footage investigation

In the investigation regarding the money counting footage allegedly filmed at the CHP İstanbul Provincial Headquarters, the testimony given by lawyer Gökhan Taşkapan in the capacity of "declarant" has been obtained.

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Testimony of lawyer Gökhan Taşkapan obtained in 'money counting' footage investigation

The investigation initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the money counting footage, which was allegedly filmed at the CHP Provincial Headquarters and shared on social media, is ongoing.

Within the scope of the investigation, the testimony given by lawyer Gökhan Taşkapan to the prosecutor's office voluntarily in the capacity of "declarant" has been obtained.

In his testimony, Taşkapan stated that the property currently used as the CHP İstanbul Provincial Building belonged to his client, Ali Rıza Braka, in 2019, and that the CHP had made an offer to them through a real estate agent.

Stating that the final price communicated to the CHP during the negotiations was 43 million liras, but that an agreement was reached at 41 million liras, Taşkapan noted the following regarding how the 2 million lira difference arose:

"When the CHP side was purchasing the properties, they requested that Metin Gül, the owner of Gül İnşaat, contribute 2 million liras to the purchase of the building; therefore, we held many meetings where Metin Gül was also present. Metin Gül told me that he had many investments in Büyükçekmece and Sarıyer, that Sarıyer Mayor Şükrü Genç from the CHP and Fatih Keleş, whose name is in the file, demanded the 2 million lira difference from him, that they told him they would stop his investments if he did not pay this money, and that he was forced to pay the money because he was afraid of this situation due to Fatih Keleş's closeness to Ekrem İmamoğlu."

For this reason, he told us, 'Let 1 million lira of this 2 million lira be from you, and I will give you the remaining 1 million lira in cash separately.'

He delivered it in cash through his employee on the day the title deed was transferred on December 11, 2019. We updated the price to 41 million liras so that he would not be in a difficult situation."

Taşkapan explained that the official purchase price of the property was set at 24 million 360 thousand liras, and that it was agreed upon that the CHP would pay the remaining amount externally upon request. He stated that during these transactions, a person they learned was a CHP official asked them for 2 million liras, and he believed that Canan Kaftancıoğlu knew this person and was aware of the situation.

Noting that the overpayment was prevented after he conveyed the situation to Kaftancıoğlu, Taşkapan explained that the payment was made in his office on December 10, 2019, due to the insistence of CHP officials.

"CANAN KAFTANCIOĞLU INITIATED THE PURCHASING PROCESS, FATİH KELEŞ AND Tuncay Yılmaz MANAGED IT"

In his statements, Taşkapan said that Kaftancıoğlu initiated the purchasing process but that he believes she was sidelined in the later stages, and that the remainder of the process was managed by Fatih Keleş and Tuncay Yılmaz, whose name he learned from the press.

Stating that the camera recording in the room was not made secretly and that the officials there were aware of this, Taşkapan said that upon one of those present saying, "It would be good if these were recorded, a copy was given to us, the payment was documented, and it was also presented to the president," all camera recordings were given to Tuncay Yılmaz.

Taşkapan continued his statement as follows:

"It is stated in the testimonies that Fatih Keleş brought the money in one go and together with Tuncay Yılmaz. However, Keleş arrived at my office around 12:30 PM, and Yılmaz arrived around 2:30 PM. And money was brought to the office from various places in different amounts for about 3 hours. In the latest expert report, the euros and dollars in Tuncay Yılmaz's possession were brought by him personally. The dollars and euros counted there were converted into lira and calculated, and a total of 15 million 510 thousand lira was handed over to the seller, Ali Rıza Braka. Additionally, two more closed bags were brought, but these bags were not opened. Therefore, I do not know if there was money inside them."

Stating that Keleş took notes of the money coming in and out of the office, and that during this time another person arrived with a bag containing 1 million lira, Taşkapan said, "He said this was sent from the IMM (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality) and that the person who would be awarded the tender had arranged it. All notes of money coming in and out were finally handed over to Tuncay Yılmaz."

Explaining that they met at the Sarıyer Land Registry Office on December 11, 2019, for the sales transactions, and that before 12:00 PM, 1 million lira was handed over to Braka off the books through his employee as agreed with Gül, and that another 490 thousand lira was given by Keleş on the same day, Taşkapan declared that the total amount of money handed over externally was 17 million lira.

ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had launched an ex officio investigation to uncover the material truth and determine whether any crime or criminal elements existed regarding the footage shared on some social media accounts with the note, "Footage of Fatih Keleş counting stacks of money at the CHP İstanbul Provincial Headquarters has emerged."

Within the scope of the investigation, IMM Sports Club President Fatih Keleş, former CHP İstanbul Provincial Vice President Özgür Nas, and former CHP İstanbul Provincial Press Advisor Can Poyraz were questioned by the prosecutor's office as suspects.

Keleş had testified, "Ali Rıza Braka, who sold the CHP İstanbul provincial building, received the money at the law office."

As part of the investigation, Braka and Tuncay Yılmaz, General Manager of İmamoğlu Construction Company, were also questioned as "suspects."

It was learned that Canan Kaftancıoğlu, whom suspect Ali Rıza Braka mentioned in his testimony to the prosecutor by saying, "The process on behalf of the CHP was being managed by Canan Kaftancıoğlu, who was the Provincial President at that time. We signed the sales contract with her at the Beyoğlu 3rd Notary Public on November 6, 2019," had been summoned to testify as a "suspect."

News Source: AA