Among the 15 people arrested are journalist Murat Ağırel and Ömer Sarıgül. The decision came following the investigation. Of the 17 suspects detained in the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation into the Sarıgül family, 15 were arrested and 2 were released under judicial supervision. Among those arrested are Ömer Sarıgül, the son of YENİ Party MP Mustafa Sarıgül, and his former wife Aylin Kotil.
The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office disclosed the scope of the investigation. According to the prosecutor’s office, the investigation was launched upon a complaint by German citizens K.P. and M.B. The complainants alleged that money of unknown origin was laundered through companies established in Turkey and abroad, and that they were threatened after conveying information and documents to Ağırel. The charges include money laundering and threats. Emir Sarıgül, who is abroad, came to the police on October 19, while the allegations concerning Mustafa Sarıgül will be sent to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The allegations were conveyed by S.Ç. Journalist Timur Soykan stated that the allegations were passed on to Ağırel by S.Ç. and that Ağırel, finding the documents insufficient, postponed the story. Soykan voiced support for Ağırel.
The fund allegations came to the fore. Ağırel had raised the fund allegations on Sözcü TV on October 7. A criminal complaint followed. Trade Minister Ömer Bolat had filed a criminal complaint against Ağırel and İsmail Saymaz, calling it a “dishonorable slander.” The two journalists gave statements on October 9 and were released under a signature requirement, and were then placed under house arrest on October 10 following the prosecution’s objection. A new allegation also emerged. AKP’s Osman Gökçek claimed that one of Tera’s lawyers was also acting as Ağırel’s lawyer.
Why it matters
The presence of a journalist among those arrested moves the file beyond a money laundering investigation targeting the Sarıgül family and places it at the center of the press freedom debate. The fact that Ağırel, after bringing the fund allegations to the fore, has faced a criminal complaint, a statement, house arrest, and now arrest magnifies the question of where the line between journalism and accusation will be drawn. The side-by-side existence of the allegation that the complainants were threatened after submitting the documents and the information that Ağırel found the documents insufficient and postponed the story makes how the chain of evidence will be assessed in court the file’s most critical open question. The fact that the allegations concerning Mustafa Sarıgül will be referred to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and that the proceedings against Emir Sarıgül are continuing shows that the file is not closed with these arrest decisions. The process brings together under the same judicial agenda both the Sarıgül family’s business relationships and the legal consequences of the contact journalists established with the documents conveyed to them.
Background
Sarıgül is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 4 stories featuring this name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated October 19, 2026.