12 more confess in Istanbul municipal corruption probe

ISTANBUL

Twelve more individuals have confessed under the “effective repentance” law in a sweeping corruption investigation into the Istanbul Municipality, bringing the total number of cooperating suspects to 36.

The investigation centers on allegations including bribery, bid-rigging, fraud and leadership of a criminal organization. In five waves of operations, authorities arrested 138 people, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, high-ranking municipal officials, district mayors and businesspeople.

According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, the latest group of 12 people gave statements as part of the ongoing probe. Turkish law allows reduced sentences for suspects who cooperate with authorities under the "effective repentance" clause, which has so far led to the release of 32 of the confessors.

Among those released is Ertan Yıldız, head of the municipal council’s commission overseeing subsidiaries and affiliates. Several other businesspeople and municipal staff have also been freed under the same provision.

However, authorities reportedly found the statements of four individuals — businessman Adem Soytekin, Ziya Gökmen Togay, the head of the municipality’s environmental management subsidiary İSTAÇ, municipal survey engineer Yakup Öner and lawyer Orçun Muhittin Yılmaz — insufficient for leniency.

İmamoğlu, of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was suspended from office after his arrest.