The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office carried out a fifth-wave operation in 20 provinces as part of an investigation into the Ahbap Association and issued detention orders for 53 people. Forty-five people were detained and eight were sought. The investigation was conducted on charges of “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes,” “aggravated fraud” and “laundering assets derived from crime.” Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the association collected 4.3 billion lira in donations for earthquake victims between 6 February and 31 December 2023, spent about 4.2 billion lira and withdrew 950 million lira in cash. Gürlek also said investigators found that some large payments had no corresponding goods or services and that some aid materials had not reached beneficiaries. Thirty-five people, including association founder Haluk Levent, had previously been arrested in the investigation.
7 September 2026
Diken