A Turkish court has jailed YouTube personality Oğuzhan Uğur and eight others pending trial in a growing investigation into alleged financial misconduct at the Anatolian People and Peace Platform Association (AHBAP), the prominent disaster relief organization founded by rock musician Haluk Levent, the DHA news agency reported on Tuesday.
The nine were arrested on charges of breach of trust in connection with professional services and laundering assets derived from a crime, Turkish media reported on Tuesday.
A 10th suspect was released under judicial supervision.
The latest arrests bring the number of people jailed pending trial in the investigation to 27. Levent and 13 others were jailed last week, while four more suspects were subsequently arrested in a separate operation.
Uğur is the founder of BABALA TV, a popular YouTube channel known for programs in which members of the audience directly question guests. The channel has around 4.6 million subscribers.
Following two devastating earthquakes that struck southeastern Turkey on February 6, 2023, Uğur and volunteers organized by BABALA TV worked with AHBAP to collect information about survivors’ needs and deliver aid in the disaster zone.
The earthquakes killed more than 53,500 people in Turkey.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating allegations that donations collected in AHBAP’s name were transferred to accounts linked to the suspects and used for purposes other than those intended.
Citing reports prepared by Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), prosecutors allege that some suspects conducted large financial transactions inconsistent with their declared income, transferred substantial sums among themselves, deposited large amounts into gambling accounts and carried out a series of property transfers over a short period of time.
According to DHA, Uğur told prosecutors that he had stopped communicating with Levent following a personal dispute but did not change his view of AHBAP because he had personally witnessed the charity’s relief work in the earthquake-hit province of Hatay.
Uğur previously denied wrongdoing, saying on X after Levent’s arrest that he and his team would pursue legal action if their relief efforts had been exploited.
The investigation initially concerned alleged money laundering, membership in a criminal organization and violations of Turkey’s tax and associations laws.
Prosecutors have frozen AHBAP’s assets and those of some suspects, while Turkey’s state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has been appointed as trustee to four companies linked to the investigation.
A panel of experts has also been appointed to examine AHBAP’s financial records, bank transactions and transfers between individuals and companies, with a particular focus on donations collected following the earthquakes.
Levent has denied using the charity’s funds or assets for personal benefit.
“I did not touch a single penny belonging to the association,” he told prosecutors.
Founded by Levent in 2017, AHBAP became one of Turkey’s most prominent civil society organizations through its volunteer network and large-scale response to the 2023 earthquakes.
Its fundraising and relief efforts attracted widespread public support as an alternative to government-led aid operations.