A Turkish court has jailed rock musician Haluk Levent and 13 others pending trial in a growing investigation into alleged financial misconduct at AHBAP, the prominent charity he founded, the DHA news agency reported.
Levent, his assistant Yeliz Kaya and lawyer Ece Güner were among those jailed early Thursday after questioning by prosecutors at the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had asked a court to jail 19 of the 25 suspects brought to court and impose judicial supervision on the other six.
The court jailed 14 suspects pending trial and released 11 under judicial supervision. One was put under house arrest, while the others face measures including international travel bans.
The investigation concerns alleged money laundering, membership in a criminal organization and violations of Turkey’s tax and associations laws.
Prosecutors are examining the use of donations collected by AHBAP, particularly the billions of lira raised after two devastating earthquakes struck southeastern Turkey in February 2023.
In their request for Levent’s arrest, prosecutors cited findings from Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) that they said raised serious doubts about whether the donations had been managed and spent transparently.
Prosecutors also alleged that AHBAP’s assets had been depleted and some of its real estate disposed of. The financial investigation and collecting of evidence are continuing.
Levent, 57, was among 22 people detained in the first phase of the operation on Sunday and Monday. Another 14 were detained in simultaneous raids in İstanbul, İzmir, Kocaeli and Muğla provinces on Tuesday.
Detention warrants were issued for three additional suspects who have not been taken into custody.
Levent denied the accusations during questioning by prosecutors, according to details of his testimony reported by journalist Emrullah Erdinç.
“I did not touch a single penny belonging to the association. I did not use the association’s assets for my personal benefit,” Levent said.
He reportedly invoked his right to remain silent during police questioning, claiming that officers had declined to record statements he wanted to make about politicians such as former interior minister Süleyman Soylu and government agencies.
His testimony to prosecutors was considerably shorter than the six-page statement recorded by police.
Prosecutors also questioned Levent about transactions totaling approximately 80 million lira ($1.7 million). He claimed the transactions were being used as part of a smear campaign and a plot against him.
In a statement issued through his lawyers after his detention, Levent accused prosecutors and pro-government media outlets of improperly linking his personal finances to AHBAP. He called for a comprehensive government audit of the charity’s work since the 2023 earthquakes and urged the government to publish the findings.
“They are trying to associate my private life with AHBAP,” he said. “Do not link my personal debts and receivables to AHBAP.”
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Tuesday that the investigation could expand as prosecutors continued examining MASAK reports. He also claimed that Levent had attempted to flee despite being subject to an international travel ban but provided no details about the alleged attempt.
Pro-government media outlets, citing information from the investigation, have 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.
Its fundraising and relief work drew widespread public support as an alternative to government-led aid operations.
Turkey’s state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has also been appointed as trustee to four companies linked to the investigation.