Turkish prosecutors have launched another wave of operations targeting the opposition-run İstanbul Municipality, issuing detention warrants for 25 people as part of an ongoing corruption investigation, Turkish Minute reported.
Twenty of those named have already been taken into custody, local media reported on Tuesday.
Among those facing detention is İrfan Demet, the general manager of İETT, İstanbul’s public transportation authority and a subsidiary of the İstanbul Municipality.
Executives from İSFALT, the city’s asphalt production company, are also reportedly among the suspects.
Police operations and property seizures were carried out across the provinces of İstanbul, Antalya, Çanakkale, Trabzon, Bursa and Giresun.
The raids are part of an investigation connected to Aziz İhsan Aktaş, a businessman who was previously detained in the same probe and later released after cooperating with authorities under the “effective remorse” clause of Turkish criminal law.
Allegations of bid rigging
In a statement the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said that the 25 suspects were either public officials involved in municipal tenders or members of Aktaş’s network. The group is accused of rigging tenders from İETT and İSFALT to profit from the contracts.
The operation is the latest in a series of investigations targeting the İstanbul Municipality, whose mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and his party’s presidential candidate for the next election, is currently behind bars.
The mayor, seen as the strongest political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was arrested on March 23 on corruption charges, widely seen as politically motivated. His detention on March 19 led to widespread protests unseen in Turkey since the anti-government protests of 2013.
The CHP has been under a harsh crackdown for about a year that has so far led to the arrest of 17 CHP mayors and dozens of party officials.
Journalist arrested as part of investigation into Beşiktaş Municipality
In a separate but related investigation, Turkish journalist Çağdaş Yıldız, a columnist for the Dünya newspaper, has been arrested in connection with a corruption probe targeting the Beşiktaş Municipality, a district known as a CHP stronghold.
The probe involves allegations of bribery and tender manipulation linked to the network allegedly led by businessman Aktaş.
Yıldız told prosecutors he had no commercial ties with Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, who was also arrested and removed from office in a bid-rigging investigation in January.
Prosecutors have not yet disclosed the exact charges faced by the journalist.
