Court Case Features 10-Million-Lira Check Allegation: Türker Takes Sharp Aim at Ongun

At the 30th session of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality trial on September 7, businessman Cüneyt Yakut testified under plea-deal cooperation provisions that he had passed a 10-million-lira check as a bribe to Medya A.Ş. Board Chair Murat Ongun. Yakut said he had carried out advertising contracts obtained from Kültür A.Ş. and Medya A.Ş. through subcontracting arrangements and had channelled the payment to Ongun.

Following the testimony, Medya A.Ş. General Manager Fatoş Pınar Türker — held on remand for 19 months — openly reproached Ongun in court. "Deals were being done behind our backs with fugitive advertiser Emrah Bağdatlı — have you no shame?" she said.

Tensions escalated during the hearing. When Ongun took the floor to pose questions, Yakut asked that they be submitted through the presiding panel. Ongun replied, "A joint answer would be difficult for you," to which Yakut shot back, "If I spoke freely here, it would be difficult for you" — and announced he wished to give sworn supplementary testimony directed specifically at Ongun.

Yakut's testimony laid out a string of serious allegations. The witness claimed that companies buying advertising from the firm were systematically shaken down, that the scheme was run by Ongun and his lawyer Rahşan Hanım, and that the cases of 100 defendants on trial in connection with Medya A.Ş. were linked to the two of them.

The case grows out of a 2024 investigation opened by the Chief Prosecutor's Office targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), during which Bağdatlı's name first emerged as a central figure. With Türker's pretrial detention now entering its 19th month, the case has yet to reach the sentencing phase.