At the hearing held at the Istanbul 33rd High Criminal Court, in the hall opposite the Marmara Closed Penal Institution, the undetained defendant, former Ağaç AŞ Purchasing Manager Selim Marangoz, made his defense.
Defendant Carpenter said that he worked as a purchasing manager from January 2025 until May 2026, the date of his arrest, and that immediately after his release, he was first put on leave by the institution, and then his employment contract was terminated before he started working. Marangoz said that their general manager, Ali Sukas, learned that Ümit Polat was involved in bribery relations at the end of 2024, therefore he would be dismissed from his position as purchasing manager and that he considered himself suitable for this position. He stated that he was planning to retire and that he did not have information about the tender processes, but he accepted this offer because it was attractive in terms of salary.
Carpenter stated that after he took office, he came to Ümit Polat and told him that he should be careful about Ali Sukas, and made the following statement: "Ümit Polat said that Ali Sukas could use me and try to demand money from me through supplier companies. On the other hand, when our general manager Ali Sukas started his duty, he said to me, using Ümit Polat's name, 'He wants Ali Sukas.' He said that he was extorting money from the suppliers, so the suppliers might try to get benefits by approaching me. Frankly, I saw both sides blaming each other, and at that time I did not fully understand what was actually happening."
Explaining that after a while after he took office, the allegations of bribery in question went beyond internal rumors and began to be reflected in the press and the public, Marangoz said, "For this reason, no one dared to openly establish a relationship of interest with me or demand money directly. In fact, no one who was tried or testified in the prosecutor's office during this process did and cannot claim that I requested benefits from them. My period of working with our general manager Ali Sukas in the purchasing department lasted for approximately 5-6 months until his arrest." he said.
"WHEN I TAKED OFFICE, I WAS BROUGHT INTO A READY-ESTABLISHED SYSTEM"
Carpenter stated that no one taught him the purchasing processes after he took office, and that he tried to understand how it was done by looking at past purchases and files, and continued as follows:
"Tree purchasing processes at Ağaç AŞ generally worked as follows: Nursery Directorate Manager Kerem Celil Uzunlar would open a request, our general manager Ali Sukas would approve this request, Purchasing Chief Fatih Yağcı would meet with the suppliers, collect the offers and bring them to me. I would sign the purchase if the company that made the most suitable offer based on the documents and offers presented to me met the conditions. However, what was discussed in the background, on what basis the companies were selected, how the company pool was created, what kind of relationships were established with whom. "I don't know. When I look back today, I realize that there were a lot of things that I did not know and that I was not included in. When I took office, I was brought into a system that was already established."
Explaining that the list of companies to receive offers is clear and that offers are only received from the companies on this list, Marangaz said: "Ağaç AŞ generally makes 3/A and 3/G tenders within the scope of the exceptional procurement method. 3/A and 3/G tenders are not tenders in which the external demands are made and everyone who meets the conditions participates, but instead, Ağaç AŞ goes and receives offers directly from the companies and gives the job to the company that offers the most suitable offer. The first thing I noticed here is that most of the supplier companies that have been purchasing trees and wood have been in the company for many years. "It was one of the companies doing business for AŞ. When I questioned this issue, I was shown the supplier evaluation forms and was told that these suppliers were successful, that adding a new company was risky, and that the companies on the list had been doing this business for many years."
"DURING THIS PROCESS, I ALREADY THOUGHT THAT I WOULD BE DISMISSED IMMEDIATELY"
Stating that it is not clear which purchases will be made during the year, so he receives requests saying "we will purchase this much", and that he makes compulsory purchases when there is a demand, Carpenter stated that after a while, he questioned this issue when purchasing requests started to come frequently recently.
Defendant Carpenter, for example, stated that while 1000 trees could have been purchased from a single company, they were completed in parts from more than one company, that the company did not need to purchase so many trees, and that he, suspecting this situation, told the general manager Ali Sukas that this purchase would not continue. Stating that a tree purchase request was opened again by Kerem Celil Uzunlar a short time later, Carpenter continued his defense as follows: "In this request, only the number of trees is written saying 'We need this many trees'. Since we do not need this much purchase and I am already uncomfortable with the purchase within the scope of 3G, I said that I would not sign this request even if it was approved by the general manager, and that I would not approve it as the purchasing manager. Shortly after this incident, Ali Bey was arrested and we suddenly submitted a tree purchase request. "Then I learned that he had already brought the trees in the purchase requests notified to me, that this request was actually made to provide a legal basis for the purchases that took place without a tender, and that their tender could not be realized due to operations."
Carpenter explained that after the operation, not only the purchases, but also the tree purchase requests within the scope of 3A and 3G, which were frequently worked on by the Planning Manager Kerem Celil Uzunlar, ended, and said, "It further strengthened my suspicions that the previous intensive purchases were not due to real need. Moreover, even though I did not have the duty and authority, after the main indictment was issued, I told him not to receive any more offers from all the companies mentioned in the indictment, and that I would not approve these offers even if they were received. These works are based on the institution's records." "It can be easily detected. I was risking being dismissed and dismissed because of this step. In fact, I was already thinking that I would be dismissed immediately in this process." he declared.
Claiming that he did not receive any money from anyone or provide any benefits, Carpenter said, "During this period, I felt the need to explain clearly the issues that I knew and observed that seemed suspicious to me. When I look back today, I think my biggest mistake was accepting a task for which I had no knowledge or experience." he said. The public prosecutor said, "There is no procurement until the tender is made, is the indicative tender prepared after the procurement works are completed?" To the question, the defendant Carpenter said, "Yes. I was very suspicious of such a situation. I did not like it and asked for a refund." he replied.
"WE WERE HAVING A DIFFICULT TO MEET WITH ALI SUKAS AT THAT PERIOD"
Unarrested defendant businessman Orhan Yıldırım stated in his defense that he repeated the statements he made during the investigation phase and explained what he knew sincerely and in detail.
The public prosecutor said, "In your statement, you have statements regarding the tender processes. That Ali Sukas called you and determined the prices before the tender. Can you elaborate on this issue?" Defendant Yıldırım answered the question: "In the Kennedy Street tenders, Mr. Ali called me to his room and told me to make a price offer there. When our friends, as a technical team, investigated, we thought that we could not give this price and that we would make a high loss. After that, when we entered that tender, we made a higher price offer, knowing that we would technically lose. Therefore, we did not win that tender." he replied.
Yıldırım, the prosecutor asked, "Was it discussed in advance who would give what price before the tender?" "Ali Bey said it before." he replied. The public prosecutor said, "There is this 10 percent election support issue again. What is the issue of getting a 10 percent share?" Yıldırım said, "Mr. Ali called me to his room again. He demanded 10 percent of the amount of work I did in his room. When I asked why this was happening, he said he was under great pressure from above and that it would be used in the election campaign, so he demanded such money. I accepted." he replied. When the prosecutor said, "You have a statement that Ali Sukas personally determines who will get the so-called creamy and income-generating works regarding the tenders at Ağaç AŞ," the defendant Yıldırım said, "Generally, such more profitable and easier jobs, which I call creamy, are given to closer people. For example, the construction works we do, park and garden works are a bit difficult. The cost of the work is high, but the works here, flower planting and tree planting, are jobs that cost less and have higher profits." he said.
The public prosecutor said, "You sent around 3.3 million liras to Murat Dağdeviren and 1.8 million liras to Derya Hanım. What are these transfers about? 'I sent around 3 million liras to get one or two receivables from Murat Dağdeviren and Ağaç A.Ş.' You have a statement like: Is this statement true?" Defendant Yıldırım gave the following answers to the questions: "Murat Bey was talking about his problems, saying he could not get along. He had economic difficulties. I sent a loan to Murat Bey about this. He even sent some of it back to me. In this process, Ali Sukas became the general manager. Therefore, our interlocutor was Ali Sukas. We were having a hard time to meet with Ali Sukas at that time. In fact, in some meetings, he would say, how should I put it, that he did not have money, making the conditions a little difficult for us?" "I gave him a loan at first, but later I realized that it was true. As I got more work, I started giving money to Murat. It became easier for me to meet with Mr. Ali, and it became easier for us to receive progress payments." The hearing continues with the defense of the defendants.
