Turkish police on Tuesday detained 14 more people in an expanding corruption investigation into AHBAP, the prominent charity founded by rock musician Haluk Levent, bringing the number taken into custody in two series of operations to 36, the DHA news agency reported.
Levent, 57, was among 22 people detained in the first phase on Sunday and Monday. He has denied wrongdoing involving AHBAP and accused prosecutors and pro-government media outlets of improperly linking his personal finances to the organization.
As part of the second phase on Tuesday, simultaneous raids were carried out in İstanbul, İzmir, Kocaeli and Muğla provinces as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering, forming a criminal organization and violations of Turkey’s tax and associations laws, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said.
The operation targeted 17 suspects, three of whom were already in prison. Search-and-seizure operations were also conducted at four companies, with digital materials confiscated.
Detention orders have now been issued for 39 suspects in the two waves, 36 of whom have been taken into custody.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said following a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the investigation could expand as prosecutors continued examining reports prepared by Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).
Gürlek also claimed that Levent was detained Sunday after attempting to flee despite being subject to an international travel ban. He provided no details about the alleged attempt.
The new allegations focus on Levent’s brother, Berkant Acil, who is in pretrial detention as part of a separate corruption investigation involving the opposition-run Şile Municipality in İstanbul.
Levent, whose legal name is Haluk Acil, is professionally known by his stage name.
Prosecutors allege that Acil used a company as a front to secure a municipal contract for the International Şile Cloth Festival through direct procurement and inflated expenses for stage, lighting and sound services using fraudulent invoices, according to a financial expert report.
The prosecutor’s office also alleged that some donations to AHBAP were transferred to a personal bank account belonging to Levent’s assistant, Yeliz Kaya.
A total of 125.8 million lira ($2.7 million) was subsequently transferred from Kaya’s account to people and companies connected to Acil, prosecutors claimed, alleging that the donations were used for purposes other than those for which they had been collected.
In a statement issued through his lawyers on Monday following his detention, Levent called for a comprehensive government audit of AHBAP’s work since devastating earthquakes struck southeastern Turkey in February 2023 and urged the government to publish the results.
“They are trying to associate my private life with AHBAP,” Levent said. “Do not link my personal debts and receivables to AHBAP.”
Pro-government media outlets, citing information from the investigation, alleged that Levent placed bets totaling nearly 990 million lira ($21.1 million) between 2020 and 2026 and lost approximately 390 million lira ($8.3 million).
AHBAP, founded by Levent in 2017, became one of Turkey’s most prominent civil society organizations through its volunteer network and large-scale relief operation following the February 2023 earthquakes, which killed more than 53,500 people.
The organization’s fundraising and relief activities drew widespread public support as an alternative to government-led aid operations.
DHA also reported that Turkey’s state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) was appointed as trustee to four companies linked to the investigation — three based in İstanbul and one in Muğla.