New Party (YP) lawmaker Mustafa Sarıgül, a staple of Turkish politics since the 1990s, is facing new allegations in a probe into the businesses of his two sons.
The probe focuses on money laundering accusations that landed Ömer and Emir Sarıgül in custody earlier this month, and statements from a former accountant of the family spell more trouble for the lawmaker. Oktay Özkan collaborated with authorities and exposed the lawmaker’s secret partnership with a luxury hotel in Antalya’s golfing resort Belek. Özkan detailed how he carried bags of cash delivered by the hotel’s other partner, Temel Aygün, to Sarıgül’s residence repeatedly.
Sarıgül’s name came up in the investigation, which was launched upon complaints by two German businesspeople who claimed the lawmaker and his sons defrauded them with the promise of a joint investment. Digging deeper, investigators uncovered an alleged network of money laundering that also involved a prominent business dynasty Sarıgül’s elder son was once married into.
Özkan’s statements, however, focus on Sarıgül’s tenure as mayor of Istanbul’s upscale Şişli district between 1999 and 2014. He said that Sarıgül had a 48% stake at Titanic Hotel in Belek he purchased with bribes he accumulated while serving as mayor.
Özkan, who said he had known Sarıgül for approximately 30 years and had worked for him for a time as a self-employed accountant, explained that Sarıgül had introduced him to Temel Aygün, a partner in Titanic Hotels. He said he had acted as a courier and intermediary in paperwork and money transfers between the two because they had jointly opened the Titanic Hotel in Antalya.
Detailing the money transfers one by one during his questioning by prosecutors, Özkan said: “Since Temel Aygün and Mustafa Sarıgül were partners, I was in contact with them regarding the preparation of documents and their financial dealings. At the time, Temel Aygün would hand me the money in a package, and I would take it without counting it to Mustafa Sarıgül’s home and deliver it to him.”
Responding to prosecutors’ questions about when and how many times the money had been delivered, Özkan said the last transfer had taken place four to five months earlier. “I believe that four to five months ago, I went to Temel Aygün’s hotel in Taksim, collected a sealed bag of money about the size of a chocolate box, took it to Mustafa Sarıgül’s apartment and handed it over to him,” he said.
“This money was related to their partnership in the Titanic Hotel. Since both sides trusted me, I would handle the transfers between them. They would discuss the matter among themselves, determine the amounts and reach an agreement. I did not receive any payment for making these deliveries,” he said.
Allegations concerning a partnership in the Titanic Deluxe Hotel in Belek, Antalya, whose investment cost was reported to be 150 million euros ($166.84 million) and had been mentioned in the testimony of a secret witness in the probe identified as “A3M2LK48,” gained further official weight following Oktay Özkan’s questioning by prosecutors.
Sarıgül alternated between business and politics throughout his career and made a name for himself as Türkiye’s youngest lawmaker in the 1987 elections. He rose to further prominence as mayor of Şişli, an upscale Istanbul district, from 1999 to 2014. After a brief stint leading a political movement, he rejoined the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in 2013, years after unsuccessfully challenging CHP leader Deniz Baykal in intra-party elections. Baykal stepped down in 2010 following a separate sex video scandal.
Sarıgül left the CHP again and established a new party in 2020. He returned to the party ahead of the 2023 general elections and was elected to represent his hometown of Erzincan in Parliament. He joined the YP after it was founded last July by former CHP Chair Özgür Özel. His latest stint in the CHP made him familiar to younger generations, as Sarıgül once again shot to fame with bizarre social media videos in which he is often seen slapping nearby objects and people in alternating fits of excitement and anger.
