"What happened to us?” This was reportedly what a crying Mustafa Sarıgül told a suspect released in connection with a corruption probe involving his family. The lawmaker, who was recently expelled from the main opposition New Party (YP), has more legal troubles in the offing as his son Ömer Sarıgül is reportedly set to testify against him. Authorities also detained 15 more suspects on Friday in connection with the probe.
The Sarıgül family and their associates are accused of laundering money linked to criminal activities, but the veteran politician currently enjoys immunity due to his status as a lawmaker. Prosecutors in Istanbul launched the investigation recently after two German citizens alerted police, claiming Sarıgül defrauded them after pledging joint investments. Mustafa Sarıgül himself is a suspect in the case, which involved his sons Ömer and Emir as well as businesspeople who did business with them, but a separate probe is expected for him as prosecutors in Istanbul referred his case to Ankara counterparts, citing jurisdiction.
Media outlets reported on Friday that Ömer Sarıgül will follow in the footsteps of his older brother Emir and invoke a remorse law which grants lenient sentencing and sometimes a full but conditional release for suspects collaborating with authorities. Younger Sarıgül, who was arrested on Oct. 19, is expected to make an additional statement to prosecutors within a few days. Emir Sarıgül was ordered not to leave his residence after he was released under judicial control in light of his confessions implicating his father. Parts of Emir Sarıgül’s statements published by the media outlets last week exposed alleged bribery by the politician to the chair of YP, while both men were members and chairs of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), in order to secure a candidacy for a parliamentary seat. A bodyguard of Mustafa Sarıgül has also testified in the case against Sarıgül, claiming he groomed him for sex and that a video leaked online showing him having intercourse with Sarıgül was genuine and that Sarıgül paid to obtain a report to claim the video was fake.
Müge Bayır, a suspect who was released with judicial control after collaborating with authorities in the probe, said in an additional statement to investigators that Mustafa Sarıgül telephoned him after her release. "He repeatedly called me and my sister. I did not return calls at first but had to answer them as I was afraid of what he might do to me,” Bayır said in her second statement, according to media reports on Friday. Bayır said they spoke briefly and Sarıgül was crying during the call, telling her, "Why did this happen? What happened to us?” She claimed Sarıgül then sent her cash through middlemen, though she did not specify whether it was hush money.