Mother Arrested for Confessing to Involvement in SMA Aid Money Scandal
Mustafa Yağız, a SMA patient who started a fundraising campaign for his treatment, passed away on June 21. His family had opened accounts in different banks without the permission of the governor’s office for the campaign. When the volunteers realized the situation, the money collected was requested to be transferred to the governor’s account, but a businessman in Germany who wanted to donate 7 million TL for treatment gave up because the money could not be transferred.
In another development related to the case, Didem G., the mother of Yağız, initially claimed that the money collected illegally was burnt down in their house. Later, she admitted in a TV show that she had withdrawn the money and used it for buying luxury vehicles and opening car dealerships and car wash shops. The police detained Didem G. on live broadcast on December 9, 2022, and brought her to Antalya for questioning.
Antalya Police Department Public Security Branch Office has launched an investigation into allegations that the money collected in the fundraising campaign was not used for its purpose. Didem G. was arrested, and legal action was taken against her husband Gökhan G. An operation named ‘White Butterfly’ caught all eight suspects who were determined to have used the aid money collected. The searches carried out at the homes and workplaces of the suspects resulted in the seizure of 17 vehicles, 2 plots, and 1 apartment worth approximately 25 million TL, along with other belongings. The suspects will be referred to the courthouse after their proceedings, and an investigation against two suspects in prison for other crimes has also been opened.
