Artist Haluk Levent, who during the disaster of the century discredited public institutions and used the donations collected by the AHBAP Association to gamble and bet, making a heist of billions, confessed his gambling addiction and the heist he pulled off at the Ahbap Association he founded, on his social media account.
Stating that he received gold and land collateral worth 50 million lira from the association, Levent tried to disguise this as an irregular transaction. He also attempted to cover up his attempt to flee abroad and turning off his mobile phones, claiming: 'I was going to pay 140 million to the association, but I was caught before I could pay.'
Exploiting the people's most sensitive emotions during the disaster of the century and building a massive corruption and fraud network worth billions of lira behind the mask of 'Turkey's most trusted name,' Ahbap Association Chairman Haluk Levent described the heist he committed in a letter sent from the prison where he is being held.
Emphasizing that his gambling passion trapped him in a vicious cycle, Levent stated that he borrowed money from people with high interest and promises. Levent said: 'Gambling is a terrible disease. I succumbed to my fame, my ambition, and my weaknesses. Can a debt of 35 million lira turn into 250 million in six months? It does... I am someone who offers twice or three times the amount to borrow from people.'
Responding to allegations that he embezzled Ahbap Association funds, Levent confirmed that he made irregular transactions within the association but tried to cloak it as unauthorized borrowing rather than theft. Claiming he planned to close the gap before a ministry audit, Levent explained that he acted with a 'rob Peter to pay Paul' mentality and recounted the millions he took through the association.
Admitting that the association had gold purchases and land collateral worth 50 million lira, Levent claimed he had aimed to replace these before the audit arrived.
HE TURNED OFF HIS PHONE, TRIED TO FLEE, SAID 'I DIDN'T KNOW': Levent, who went to the airport to go abroad but learned he had an international travel ban, then turned off four mobile phones and was caught in Bursa while fleeing, made no mention of these events in his prison letter.
Levent claimed that on Friday, July 10, he took action to repay his debts to the association, and that he would cover the entire deficit with the transfer of 20 houses worth 150 million lira in Çerkezköy and 140 million TL transferred to his bank account, and merely reacted to the timing of the operation.
MONEY LAUNDERING SUSPICION OVER REAL ESTATE: Haluk Levent ignored the AHBAP heist and claimed he was arrested for fraud over alleged real estate sales. Admitting he bought a property worth 22 million dollars from Hüseyin Başaran for 60 million dollars, Levent did not explain why he paid three times its value.
MILLION-LIRA HEIST USING THE METHOD OF FAMOUS CON ARTIST 'RAKI': In Istanbul's Fatih district, Armenian citizen Tigran P. disguised himself with a wig, glasses, a goatee, and dyed eyebrows, and opened a bag shop in a passage. After gaining the trust of the surrounding shopkeepers, Tigran P. started trading gold. He later pulled off a heist using the 'Kunduzi' method of the famous 1980s con artist Güney Zobu, known as 'Raki.'
Tigran P. put the gold brought by couriers into his safe. After telling the couriers, 'Sit down, I'll go get the money,' he disappeared with his accomplice Henrik S. (36). When Tigran P. didn't return, the suspicious couriers saw that the back of the safe was hollow and opened into a corridor behind the shop. The two suspects, who stole 4 kilograms of 14-carat gold worth 300,000 dollars, were caught while having a picnic by the shore.
After his escape, Tigran P. shed his fake disguise. Although he looked different when caught, he was betrayed by the t-shirt he wore during the incident and the scar on his forehead. By YunusEmre KAVAK/ SABAH.
