Testimonies of Engin and Dilan Polat couple revealed

The testimonies of Engin Polat and Dilan Polat before the judgeship have been revealed. In her testimony, Dilan Polat stated, "We are a family, there cannot be such a thing as an organization. Since my husband's family is not my own family, they have become like my own family. As far as I know, our financial advisors and accountants handle tax matters. I have nothing to do with things like fake invoices or shell invoices. I don't even know how to issue an invoice; my husband handles the commercial aspect of our business." Engin Polat, meanwhile, said, "There may be problematic ones among the invoices we receive. This has happened in the past as well. We have received the materials for every invoice we have taken. We have not given fake invoices to anyone. All our sales are invoiced."

The couple Engin and Dilan Polat, against whom an investigation was initiated by the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for the crimes of "Preventing the Laundering of Proceeds of Crime, Violation of the Tax Procedure Law, and Violation of the Law on the Regulation of Betting and Games of Chance in Football and Other Sports Competitions," were detained in an operation carried out by the Anti-Financial Crimes Branch. While a total of 24 suspects were apprehended within the scope of the operation, 18 suspects were referred to the Anadolu Courthouse after their procedures at the police station were completed. The procedures for 6 suspects at the police station are ongoing. After the procedures, which lasted a total of 19 hours, 12 people out of 18 suspects, including Engin Polat, Dilan Polat, Sıla Doğu, Sezgin Polat, Ahmet Gün, Can Doğu, and Can Polat, were arrested, while 6 suspects were released under judicial control conditions.

Dilan Polat, who was among the 12 suspects arrested by the Anadolu 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace, stated that she repeated her testimony at the police station, adding that those with the surname 'Polat' were her husband's relatives, those with the surname 'Doğu' were her own relatives, and that she did not know the other suspects. In her testimony, Dilan Polat said, "The companies I am a partner in are beauty centers. We provide services to women related to beauty. I am the face of the brand. I do product promotion advertisements for our family companies, and I do branch advertisements. I deal with the training and discipline of the employees in my own beauty center. My main job is advertising. I only do advertising."

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ISSUE AN INVOICE"

Stating that she has two small children, Dilan Polat claimed that her children are very attached to her and that she has no information about the financial matters of the companies. In her testimony, Polat said, "I don't know how to issue an invoice. I know there are financial advisors in the companies, and I know they deal with tax matters. I have no knowledge that illegal money, referred to as black money, has come into these companies.

I have not witnessed such a thing. I don't know what betting is. The money coming in has nothing to do with illegal betting. I have never heard such a thing from anyone. We are a family, there cannot be such a thing as an organization. Since my husband's family is not my own family, they have become like my own family.

As far as I know, our financial advisors and accountants handle tax matters. I have nothing to do with things like fake invoices or shell invoices. I don't even know how to issue an invoice; my husband handles the commercial aspect of our business. I did not commit the crimes I am accused of; I have no connection to them. I request to be tried without arrest."

HER LAWYER: "MY CLIENT HAS A TRAUMATIC LIFE"

Dilan Polat's lawyer stated that Dilan Polat's father killed her mother and that she lived a traumatic life, adding that his client married Engin Polat at the age of 17. He said that his client entered business life by doing birth photography, and over time, her number of followers on social media increased, and she capitalized on this. He stated that there are 130 beauty companies and the source of the money coming into the company is clear.

"WE ARE A FAMILY FIRM CONSISTING OF 6 COMPANIES"

Engin Polat said in his testimony, "I had given a statement regarding this matter before. I repeat that statement exactly. The suspects with the surname Polat are my relatives. The suspects with the surname Doğu are my wife's relatives, Ahmet Gün is our financial advisor, I do not know Beyza and Ceyda. Gürsel Yılmaz is my uncle, and Metin Yılmaz is also my uncle; Nilgül Yılmaz is Metin Yılmaz's wife. Yeşim Altınkalemdalkıran is the firm owner of the polyclinic we manage; she is a doctor.

I do not know someone named Zekai Tepe. We are a family firm consisting of 6 companies. We have beauty centers. We have a device and product sales company. We have a cosmetics sales company. We have a construction company, we have an education company. We issue certificates there. We are a family firm.

I directly manage 3 companies. These companies are Dilan Polat A.Ş., Milda İnşaat Gayrimenkul A.Ş., and D.Polat Estetik ve Sağlık Hizmetleri A.Ş. The other companies belong to my father, my brother, and Metin Yılmaz's wife, Nilgül Yılmaz. Dipo Med. Medikal is my father's company, and my father manages the Rise And Shine company by proxy. I specifically follow the 3 companies where I am the manager. My brother Alper Kürşat follows one of the other companies, and my father Sezgin follows two of them," he said.

"THERE MAY BE PROBLEMATIC ONES AMONG THE INVOICES WE RECEIVE. THIS HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST AS WELL"

Engin Polat continued his testimony, "We exchange ideas with each other. When we need to, we also borrow money from each other. Sometimes we give these debts by hand. All our suppliers are in Turkey; these are well-known companies.

They issue their invoices to us. We receive our products. We are not an organization; we are a family company. We may have made a tax-related error or mistake. There may be problematic ones among the invoices we receive. This has happened in the past as well. We have received the materials for every invoice we have taken. We have not given fake invoices to anyone. All our sales are invoiced. There is no company where I collect money in general.

I have bought vehicles and real estate with this money. I did this for investment. I did not do this to launder money. I bought them with the money I earned from commercial activities. To increase my credit feasibility, I moved all my assets to Milda Gayrimenkul after I established it in December 2022. The reason for this was that I was going to start a construction project. The license was about to be issued, but this process stopped due to the block on my accounts because of these events. When needed, we can deposit and withdraw money from banks by hand.

Since there is no trade between the two companies at that moment, we receive and deposit money by hand in this way when there is a cash need. I have nothing to do with illegal betting. I have never even played betting in my life. My old residence was registered in the system. When these events broke out, I had moved my address to my father's address 10-15 days ago so that there would be no problems with the notification being served to me. I do not accept the accusations against me; I am innocent. If there is a tax-related error, I am ready to pay the penalty for it. I request to be tried without arrest," he stated.

"I SAW ENGİN RESEARCHING BLACK MONEY ON THE INTERNET"

Sıla Doğu said in her testimony, "I don't know the definition of money laundering. I saw with my own eyes that Engin was researching this on the internet. Engin and Dilan have been very hardworking people for six years.

We earned money with Dilan under very difficult conditions. For two years, we didn't even hire multiple aestheticians. Engin did nothing but look after us."

News Source: 12punto