Authorities on June 16 detained 27 people in a corruption investigation targeting the opposition-run Beylikdüzü Municipality over an alleged corruption scheme involving a construction company linked to jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The probe focuses on allegations that construction permits were improperly granted to projects linked to İmamoğlu İnşaat, a company owned by the family of the Istanbul mayor, who has been imprisoned since March 2025.
The suspects, including municipal employees and representatives of construction and building inspection firms, were detained in simultaneous operations across Istanbul, the northern province of Giresun and the northwestern city of Bursa.
Prosecutors also said the investigation uncovered alleged irregularities in the assignment of building inspection companies to projects carried out by the company between 2022 and 2023 and is linked to a broader corruption case involving İmamoğlu, who served as the mayor of the Beylikdüzü district between 2014 and 2019.
Separately, a court ordered the arrest of 10 people, including Silivri Mayor Bora Balcıoğlu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), following a police operation conducted on June 15 as part of another investigation.
The case comes amid a broader series of legal actions targeting CHP-led municipalities across Türkiye in the past year, which the opposition says are politically motivated. The government denies any political interference.
