The AHBAP donations investigation

The state of play

Where the case stands

Haluk Levent, the founder of the aid group AHBAP, was detained in an İstanbul investigation on 12 July 2026 and jailed by a court on 16 July. He is one of 28 people jailed across three operations on suspicion of running a criminal organization, aggravated fraud, and laundering the proceeds of crime. He denies wrongdoing, no indictment has been filed, and he has not been convicted of anything. Since 22 July the inquiry has widened beyond the association itself: prosecutors have summoned 11 journalists, actors and musicians who promoted or donated to AHBAP, as witnesses rather than suspects, and have asked them whether they feel responsible for the trust the public placed in it. On 27 July a court went further and moved against the organization itself, handing administration of all its assets to court-appointed trustees and recording that a dissolution process had begun.

Much of what is public is allegation, not established fact. What the courts have done is on the record: the detentions, the arrest orders, an asset freeze on AHBAP and the suspects, and an expert panel appointed to examine whether the donations raised after the 2023 earthquakes were spent as intended. What prosecutors and the financial-crimes board MASAK allege, that roughly 120 million lira flowed to accounts Levent used and that he gambled heavily, is contested, and the betting figures do not line up across the sources. Two suspects, a co-founder and Levent's driver, have given accounts under Türkiye's effective-remorse provision in exchange for leniency, untested in court.

The case unsettles people because of what AHBAP was. Founded in 2017, it ran one of the largest civilian relief efforts in the country after the February 2023 earthquakes and published independent audits of its spending. AHBAP as an institution has not yet given a detailed, point-by-point response to the prosecutor's figures. A separate complaint, filed by Başaran Holding, also names Levent.

The timeline

How it unfolded

• Fact of record
• Court action
• Allegation / claim
• Expected

• Pending ExpectedThe case moves toward an indictment. A court-appointed expert panel is examining whether the 2023 earthquake donations were spent lawfully and as intended.
• 30 July 2026 Allegation / claimAnadolu Ajansı obtains the police statement of Hüseyin Başaran, himself a suspect held on suspicion of organization membership and laundering. He says he sold 22 properties between February and the end of April for 2,298,985,908 lira and received 151,680,000 lira, that the properties were transferred to a woman he says Levent introduced as his assistant, and that within a day or two they moved on to a man in Ankara or to Kanat Savunma and Globus Savunma. He says he is not in any criminal organization, does not want effective-remorse provisions, and is the party who has been wronged. This is a suspect's account, untested in court. Levent has not answered it, and the two other people named have not been heard from. AA
• 29 July 2026 Court actionThe TMSF says it has been appointed trustee over AHBAP's affiliated economic enterprise and 12 companies, by a decision separate from the one that put three named trustees over the association itself. The fund's statement reconciles the conflicting reports of 27 July: the association's direct management and the management of the affiliate companies run through different trustee structures. The list includes four music, stage and lighting companies, a logistics and construction firm, food, forest-products, consumer-goods and general trading companies, a winery and agriculture company, and two defense-industry companies, Globus Savunma Sanayi ve Bilişim and Kanat Savunma Sanayi Turizm ve Ticaret. Appearing on the list is not an allegation against any company on it. AA, TMSF statement
• 27 July 2026 Court actionThe İstanbul 8th Criminal Judgeship of Peace grants a prosecution request and transfers administration of AHBAP's entire asset base, its immovables, vehicles, bank cash and other assets, to court-appointed trustees: the lawyers Rıdvan Can and Mustafa Göktuğ Kaya, and Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kasım Han. The three names come from the Justice Ministry's statement and cover the association's own assets. The decision records that the association's activities have ended, that measures are in force over its accounts and assets, and that a dissolution process has been started. Appointing trustees does not by itself close an association; the board loses authority over the money, and the trustees run donations, property and accounts until the case concludes. Anadolu Ajansı and some other outlets report instead that the TMSF was appointed and that AHBAP's affiliates fall under its administration. Both accounts turn out to be correct and describe separate trusteeships, as the TMSF explained two days later. DHA, Sözcü, Bianet, Haber Global, AA
• 27 July 2026 A fourth wave of detentions brings in 13 more suspects, announced by Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, who says the investigation is examining home and container purchases, suspicious property transfers, cheques issued by the association, and financial and commercial relationships. Among those detained is Hüseyin Başaran of Başaran Holding. Five more public figures are called to give statements, among them the journalist Uğur Dündar and the singer Gülben Ergen. The number jailed remains 28. TRT Haber, Sözcü
• 24 July 2026 Four of the summoned public figures give statements at the Çağlayan courthouse as witnesses: the journalists Fatih Altaylı, Özlem Gürses and Ruşen Çakır, and the actor Hazal Kaya. Prosecutors ask whether they feel responsible for the public trust placed in AHBAP and whether their own popularity and earnings grew from it; Çakır and Gürses each say they feel no responsibility. Kaya says she donated 120,000 lira and considers herself among those wronged. Altaylı says he gave no money and had long argued the association needed independent auditing. All four leave after testifying. The running total of those jailed reaches 28 across three operations. Hürriyet, Cumhuriyet, Sözcü
• 23 July 2026 Statement · B. AcilIn the separate İstanbul Anadolu inquiry into Şile Municipality, the police statement of Levent's brother Berkant Acil is published. He rejects every accusation and, asked about 1.5 million dollars routed through his company, says Levent asked him to hold it a day and forward it to Yeliz Kaya, and that he does not know its origin. A different case, and untested. Sözcü
• 22 to 23 July 2026 The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office summons 11 well-known names to give information: Fatih Portakal, Ece Üner, Öykü Serter, Feyza Altun and Gökhan Özoğuz on 22 July, then Fatih Altaylı, Şahan Gökbakar, Ruşen Çakır, Hazal Kaya, Özlem Gürses and Fatih Koparan on 23 July. They are called as witnesses, not suspects. TRT Haber
• 20 July 2026 Statement · LeventLevent releases a five-page open "farewell" letter on his X account. He admits a gambling addiction and improper borrowing from AHBAP but denies any donations were stolen, says he was on the point of repaying the money, and alleges a "setup," with specific accusations against the justice minister that the government rejects. Levent (X)
• 19 July 2026 Statement · UğurAn account from Babala TV host Oğuzhan Uğur surfaces distancing himself from Levent and the money: no funds reached his accounts, and a personal falling-out with the singer. He is detained for questioning, not charged. Sözcü
• 19 July 2026 Statement · GünerThe jailed lawyer Ece Güner, in messages from prison, distances herself from AHBAP and turns sharply on Levent, and protests that she is jailed while, she says, the association's own board members were given house arrest. Sözcü, Halk TV
• 18 July 2026 Cooperating witnessCo-founder Alper Çelik, seeking effective remorse, tells the financial-crimes unit that Levent used his bank accounts to move money and place bets. The file, as read to him, shows large sums passing through his account. A cooperating suspect's account, given for leniency and untested in court. Anadolu Ajansı
• 17 July 2026 Prosecutors issue nine more detention orders and police take in seven suspects, among them Oğuzhan Uğur, whose home is searched. Police begin taking statements from the group on 19 July. AA, Sözcü
• 16 July 2026 Court actionA court orders Levent and 13 others jailed, 14 in all, and places 11 more under judicial control; a second wave brings those held to 18. The court freezes the assets of AHBAP and the suspects and appoints an expert panel to examine the 2023 donations. AA, TRT Haber
• 15 July 2026 After questioning, 25 suspects are sent to a criminal judgeship and one is released; prosecutors ask the court to arrest 19 of them. AA
• 14 July 2026 The number of people detained rises to 42, across İstanbul, İzmir, Kocaeli and Muğla, and prosecutors add forming a criminal organization and tax-law violations to the conduct under examination. AA, Sözcü
• Alleged (in the case file) Alleged · prosecutor / MASAKThe prosecution alleges that roughly 120 million lira flowed from AHBAP to accounts used by Levent, and that donations were taken abroad or spent outside their purpose, with heavy betting through a co-founder's accounts. The betting figures conflict: a prosecutor's summary put the wagering near 990 million lira, with about 390 million lost, while MASAK's report cites a single lost coupon of about 190 million. MASAK's own conclusion is that it "should be investigated."
• 13 July 2026 A MASAK report enters the case file, police search AHBAP's İstanbul headquarters, and trustees are appointed to four connected companies. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek confirms the investigation and says it could widen. AA, TRT Haber
• 12 July 2026 Court actionThe İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office opens an investigation into AHBAP Derneği and detains Levent in Bursa. AA, TRT Haber, Sözcü
• 3 July 2026 Statement · LeventAfter a court fines him 70 million lira over two bounced cheques, Levent announces he will step down as AHBAP's chair once its projects finish, calling it one of the most-audited NGOs in the country.
• 29 June 2026 Complaint · Başaran HoldingIn a separate case, Başaran Holding files a criminal complaint accusing Levent and two others of taking about 60 million dollars "by unlawful and fraudulent means." The allegation is untested.
• 2017 to 2023 Levent founds AHBAP in 2017. After the February 2023 earthquakes it runs one of the country's largest civilian relief efforts and publishes an independent audit reporting about 4.36 billion lira in donations for 2023, nearly all spent on relief.

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