Turkey’s main opposition leader on Tuesday accused the justice minister of controlling real estate worth 452 million Turkish lira ($10.2 million), saying the scale of the holdings could not be explained by the minister’s income as a longtime judge and prosecutor, while the minister denied the claim and said he would pursue legal action, Turkish Minute reported.
The dispute is the latest front in a larger battle over Turkey’s judiciary, with the opposition arguing that the government used judges and prosecutors to weaken the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and sideline jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s top political rival.
CHP leader Özgür Özel made the accusation at a news conference in Ankara, where he displayed what he said were land registry documents and claimed Justice Minister Akın Gürlek’s current and previously sold properties totaled 452 million lira in transaction value. Özel said the amount included 11 apartments and one parcel of land worth 325.5 million lira, along with four apartments he said had previously been sold for 126.5 million lira.
Özel argued that the scale of the real estate activity could not be explained by Gürlek’s income as a longtime judge and prosecutor. He said the assets amounted to wealth that would far exceed what could be purchased through his official salary alone.
Gürlek denied the accusation in a post on X, calling it an effort at public disinformation. He said he has worked in state service for more than 20 years and that he and his wife, also a judge, regularly submit financial disclosure statements to the proper authorities as required by law. He also said the papers cited by Özel did not correspond to actual land records and described the claims as fabricated.
The justice minister said anyone claiming to have real evidence should take it to the proper judicial authorities rather than present it at a political news conference. He said he was immediately starting legal action, including a civil claim for non-pecuniary damages.
Gürlek was one of the most controversial judicial figures in Turkey before he joined Erdoğan’s cabinet as justice minister in February. As İstanbul’s chief public prosecutor, he oversaw the broad legal campaign against CHP-run municipalities, including the major corruption case against İmamoğlu. His move into the justice ministry drew fierce opposition criticism and protests in parliament.
The real estate allegations are not the first time Özel has accused Gürlek of holding positions or assets inconsistent with the role of a top prosecutor. In November Özel said Gürlek had remained on the board of a Luxembourg-based subsidiary of the state-run Eti Maden mining company after becoming İstanbul’s chief public prosecutor, a claim Gürlek denied, though a Luxembourg corporate filing published at the time appeared to support the opposition leader’s timeline.
