Skip to content
Bora Haber
Markets
  • US dollar49.65up 0.05%
  • Euro55.60down 0.19%
  • British pound66.53down 0.08%
  • BIST 10011,117down 0.92%
  • Gold (gram)6,398down 1.24%
  • Gold (ounce)US$4,008down 1.29%
  • BitcoinUS$80,324down 0.24%
Arıboğan indictment

Indictment seeks up to 5 years in prison for Lütfi Arıboğan

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is seeking 2 years 6 months to 5 years in prison for former TFF Vice President Lütfi Arıboğan on a charge of knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organization.

Bora Haber

· 2 min read

A gray-haired man in a dark navy suit, light blue shirt and dark polka-dot tie speaks against a pale yellow background.
Developments in the indictment case against the subject of this story Photo: Bora Haber

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has prepared an indictment against Lütfi Arıboğan, a former national basketball player and former Vice President of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF). The indictment charges him with "knowingly and willingly aiding an armed terrorist organization without being a member of it" and requests a prison sentence of 2 years 6 months to 5 years. The case was filed at the Istanbul 25th High Criminal Court.

Allegations in the indictment

The indictment states that Arıboğan served as TFF 1st Vice President and Executive Committee member in 2011-2012 and handled the federation's sporting side of the match-fixing investigation. It records that he was in contact 101 times with Mehmet Baransu, then a columnist at Taraf newspaper, between 13 July 2011 and 6 December 2012. Arıboğan said in his defense that he did not know Baransu and did not remember the communication records; the indictment says call-record (HTS) analyses and digital examination reports show contact between the two.

The indictment also says Arıboğan was in contact with police officers of the period who worked on the match-fixing investigation and were later found to have links to FETÖ/PDY. He reportedly had 83 contacts with dismissed police chief Mutlu Ekizoğlu, 12 with security officer Bülent Özoğlu, and two with chief inspector Soner Koç.

It was also noted that Arıboğan was part of the TFF delegation that met UEFA Chief Inspector Cornu in Istanbul on 22-23 August 2011. Cornu's report dated 3 November 2011 states that TFF officials said there was no doubt Fenerbahçe was involved in match-fixing. Cornu reportedly sent Arıboğan's personal email address a message on 23 August 2011 meaning "as agreed, please check and let me know if it is suitable for you."

A decision not to prosecute was issued for Ahmet Gülüm, İlhan Helvacı and Ebru Köksal, who were investigated in the same file. Fenerbahçe Sports Club appears in the indictment as the party harmed by the offense.

Related stories

More on this topic

See all
A man in a dark navy suit, striped shirt and dark tie speaks into several microphones.
Arıboğan Indictment

Indictment: Arıboğan was in TFF delegation that met UEFA Chief Inspector Cornu

Man with gray spiky hair and graying beard, in a black blazer and shirt, taking a selfie in a mirror with a black phone.
Tolga Akış

Prosecutors seek up to 3 years in prison for Manifest founder Tolga Akış

A woman with short blonde hair and sunglasses, in a black strapless dress, stands beside a smiling man in a white tuxedo.
TERA Fund Investigation

Melis Sütşurup Sandal and father Cihan Sütşurup to return profit made from TERA funds

Smiling man in navy pinstripe suit, red patterned tie and pink pocket square, arms folded against plain grey background.
Fund investigation

16 billion lira outflow found from Atlas Portföy funds in Altınbaş Holding operation

Comments

Sign in to comment.