A former Turkish national volleyball player has been put under house arrest and prohibited from traveling abroad as part of an ongoing investigation into the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality that led the arrest of the city’s popular mayor last year, the DHA news agency reported.
Derya Çayırgan, 38, was taken into custody on Thursday morning as part of the probe and was later brought to the İstanbul Courthouse, where she gave a statement to prosecutors.
She was referred to a criminal court with a request for judicial supervision measures on charges of money laundering.
The court ruled to impose house arrest and a travel ban, ordering that she not leave her residence.
Çayırgan previously played for Turkey’s national women’s volleyball team. She announced her retirement from professional sports in a social media post on December 8.
According to a statement obtained by DHA, Çayırgan was asked by prosecutors about her acquaintance with jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and funds transfers in her accounts.
İmamoğlu, a prominent figure in Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and its 2028 presidential candidate, has been in pretrial detention since March 2025 on charges that include corruption and “political espionage.”
His arrest, which came just hours after his formal nomination, sparked nationwide protests and has been widely condemned as politically motivated.
Çayırgan reportedly told prosecutors that she first encountered İmamoğlu by chance in Taksim in central İstanbul in 2020 or 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said they exchanged brief greetings and that they remained in touch over time, with İmamoğlu offering her a chance to play for the municipal volleyball team, a proposal that she rejected.
She denied having any relationship with several individuals named by prosecutors and said her only contact was with a municipal official she was directed to reach out to when she was unable contact the mayor directly.
Çayırgan also said the funds in her accounts were from savings belonging to her and her family as well as cash payments she had received directly from sports clubs.
Addressing findings by Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board, (MASAK), she said the transactions in question stemmed from her personal savings, which she began depositing into banks after 2021. She said a €50,000 cash deposit made in June 2023 came from those savings and was used to purchase an apartment, saying the money did not come from any third party.
Turkish prosecutors have recently launched a series of legal actions targeting well-known figures alleged to have close ties İmamoğlu, who is the most powerful political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Critics say the operations are aimed at intimidating prominent figures in society to discourage them from publicly expressing support for İmamoğlu due to fear of facing legal repercussions.