It has been reported that AKP Ankara Provincial Vice Chair Serkan Korkutata, who was detained as part of a "money laundering" investigation that also saw the arrest of Emir Sarıgül, the son of CHP Erzincan MP Mustafa Sarıgül, has been released.
Korkutata, who was detained in Istanbul, was reportedly taken to Ankara, where the investigation is being conducted, and released after providing his statement to the prosecutor. Korkutata is known as the son of former Welfare Party MP Hüsamettin Korkutata and the nephew of AKP Bingöl MP Zeki Korkutata.
According to a report by Gazete Pencere, Korkutata serves as a board member at Maritza İnşaat, a company among whose founders is Emir Sarıgül. Records also indicate that Korkutata was previously among the shareholders of Beyaz TV, which has been associated with the family of Melih Gökçek.
PAST COMMERCIAL RELATIONS HAD COME TO THE AGENDA
According to trade registry records, Serkan Korkutata was elected to the management of Ses Televizyon Radyo Yayıncılık on February 19, 2009. It is stated that Korkutata was among the shareholders after the company took the title of Kanal Beyaz Televizyon Radyo Yayıncılık A.Ş. in April 2010.
The tenders received from the municipality by companies owned by the Korkutata family during Melih Gökçek's tenure as Mayor of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality had previously appeared in the press. A report published in Cumhuriyet in 2019, based on the findings of municipal inspectors, stated that brothers Serkan and Fuat Korkutata received 56 tenders from the municipality through nine different companies between 2013 and 2017, and that the total value of nine of these reached 256 million liras.
In reports regarding the same period, contracts for municipal properties, such as the leasing of the 1,546-vehicle capacity parking lot at Göksu Park for 25 years at an annual cost of 315 thousand liras, businesses in park areas, and the excursion train operation at Altınpark, had also been a subject of controversy.
Another report in BirGün stated that the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality had rented two armored vehicles from the Koru Group, owned by Korkutata, for use by the mayor's office in 2016 and 2017, and that a total of 285 thousand liras was paid for a 26-month rental period.
News Source: 12punto
