Gökçek family probe widens as Turkish land sale and German mortgage occur two days apart

September 4, 2026 at 06:00 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

A Turkish land sale and a €6.5 million mortgage on German property linked to the Gökçek family occurred two days apart in 2019. Ankara's chief prosecutor has opened an investigation and summoned former Ankara mayor Melih Gökçek as a suspect. The probe follows journalist reports on companies tied to his son Ahmet Gökçek and daughter-in-law Hülya Gökçek.

Key Facts

AC Sportif, founded by Ahmet Gökçek's brother-in-law Cenk Karayel, bought a 5,386-square-meter property in Ankara on April 7, 2017.
On October 31, 2019, Karayel transferred all his shares in AC Sportif to Hülya Gökçek.
A €6.5 million mortgage was placed on a German property linked to the Gökçek family two days after the Turkish land sale.
Ankara's chief prosecutor summoned Melih Gökçek as a suspect in an organized crime investigation.
HAMAG had zero employees and zero revenue from its founding until it became a holding company.

The Investigation

Ankara's chief prosecutor opened an investigation after journalist reports on the Gökçek family's business dealings. Melih Gökçek was summoned as a suspect by the organized crime prosecutor, while the journalist was called as a witness. The investigation focuses on companies linked to Ahmet Gökçek and Hülya Gökçek, including AC Sportif and HAMAG. HAMAG had zero employees and zero revenue from its founding until it became a holding company, raising questions about its funding source.

AC Sportif and Property Transactions

AC Sportif was founded on October 22, 2015, in Ankara by Cenk Karayel, Ahmet Gökçek's brother-in-law, with capital of 100,000 lira. Karayel was listed as an Ankaraspor executive and later as an Osmanlıspor board member and general manager. On April 7, 2017, AC Sportif purchased a 5,386-square-meter property in Ankara while Melih Gökçek was still mayor. On October 31, 2019, Karayel transferred all his shares in AC Sportif to Hülya Gökçek. The Turkish land sale and the €6.5 million mortgage on German property occurred only two days apart.