Turkish police detained seven people on Tuesday in a bribery and money laundering investigation into Halk TV owner Cafer Mahiroğlu, less than a month after the case led to the state takeover of the prominent pro-opposition broadcaster, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had ordered eight suspects detained in coordinated raids across four provinces.
One suspect is still at large, while the seven listed as detained included a man already imprisoned in a separate case, according to Turkish media reports.
The investigation, which also concerns alleged bid rigging, led to police raiding Halk TV’s İstanbul headquarters on October 14. The Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), a state agency, was appointed by a court to manage the broadcaster and companies linked to Mahiroğlu. Live broadcasts were halted following the takeover.
Mahiroğlu, who lives in London, denies wrongdoing and says the investigation is politically motivated.
Those detained include Ramazan Tezcan, a former secretary-general of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality; Haluk Harun Tuzsuzoğlu, a former head of the municipality’s equipment supply department; and Mehmet Meral, an inspector in that department.
Others named in the operation include employees of vehicle maintenance company BUSTECH, a construction company partner, and former municipal employee İbrahim Tuncol, who is already jailed in another case.
Police are seeking Emre Kaya, the owner of the Eskişehir-based ESBAKIM company. The raids were carried out in İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Eskişehir provinces.
Prosecutors allege that BUSTECH, established in the western city of İzmir in 2021, operated as a front for Mahiroğlu, securing municipal contracts and channeling proceeds to Halk TV, his textile business and other corporate and personal accounts.
They say money was moved repeatedly between accounts to conceal its origins.
The alleged scheme involved contracts for vehicle maintenance, cleaning services and mask purchases from İzmir’s metropolitan municipality. Prosecutors claim bribes were paid to officials to secure contracts and payments, with the aim of financing Halk TV after Mahiroğlu acquired the station in 2020.
The allegations are partly based on statements from a secret witness and suspects cooperating with prosecutors under Turkey’s “effective remorse” provisions, which can allow reduced penalties in exchange for cooperation.
According to the prosecutors, 13 people were detained in the October operation and five were jailed pending trial.
Following the takeover, Mahiroğlu said the seizure of Halk TV was intended to divert public attention from a multibillion-dollar investment fund scandal involving allegations of market manipulation and figures linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
That separate scandal has affected nearly half a million individual investors. Former family minister and senior AKP official Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya was jailed pending trial last week on charges of violating capital markets law and belonging to a criminal organization. She denies any wrongdoing.
Mahiroğlu also faces an arrest warrant issued in June 2025 in a separate investigation into alleged bid rigging involving the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
That warrant followed statements by businessman Aziz İhsan Aktaş, who was arrested in January 2025 on accusations of running a criminal organization involved in bribery and municipal contracts. Aktaş was released under judicial supervision in June after cooperating with prosecutors.
Mahiroğlu denied those accusations, saying they were based on statements by someone he had never met.
