Furniture was a bargain

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Council decided to sell the Mayor's Residence in Dikmen through tender.

Despite the provision in the State Tender Law No. 2886, which states that "The Mayor and his relatives shall not enter the tender within three years after leaving office," Gökçek's relatives entered the tender for the sale of the house. The tender was won by the business partnership of Gökçek's wife Nevin Gökçek and his lawyers Fatih Atalay and Salih Çelen.

The sale was made while the Gökçek Family was living in the residences. Gökçek continued to live as the property owner in the duplex residence, which he was required to vacate within two months after leaving his position.

On March 31, 2019, old files were opened after ABB switched from AKP to CHP. A striking detail regarding the house that Gökçek purchased illegally was revealed. It was learned that Gökçek approved the purchase of seven items of home furniture worth 58,050 TL on September 29, 2017, just one month before he was dismissed. The furniture could not be located in the fixed assets inspection conducted after Gökçek left office. ABB launched an investigation to locate the furniture. As a result of the inspections, it was determined that the furniture was purchased for Melih Gökçek 's house.

The Inspection Board was assigned to investigate the allegations that Gökçek had purchased furniture for his home with municipality money. The ABB personnel tasked with investigating the matter determined that Nevin Gökçek had personally gone to the company and selected the furniture. It was also alleged that Nevin Gökçek had brought an interior designer with her to select the furniture. Following the investigations, a criminal complaint was filed against Melih Gökçek.

The property inspector assigned by the Ministry of Interior did not take the statements of Melih Gökçek and Nevin Gökçek regarding the purchase of the furniture, and decided “not to process” the findings of the ABB personnel who revealed the scandal. ABB objected to the “not to process” decision. The Ankara Regional Administrative Court ruled to overturn the decision, but the same inspector was assigned by the Ministry again regarding the issue. Following the decision of the local court, the inspector conducted a new investigation and made a preliminary investigation regarding the personnel who revealed the issue. The inspector, who did not take Gökçek’s statement, decided “not to grant permission for investigation” regarding the personnel who revealed the issue and closed the file.

The ABB administration filed a lawsuit for annulment regarding the irregular sale of the municipality residence. The application emphasized the mandatory provision of the law stating that “the Mayor and his relatives cannot participate in the tender.” In the application made by the municipality lawyer in 2019, it was also noted that Gökçek had to vacate the residence by December 28, 2017 at the latest.

The 16th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice requested the cancellation of all title deeds of the municipality houses sold with the assessment of “illegal registration” and their registration in the name of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality. Gökçek objected to the decision. The Court of Cassation, which evaluated the objection, approved the decision of the first degree court and noted that former Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Melih Gökçek should vacate the house.