44 held in municipal graft probe in Adana district

ADANA

This photo shows the town hall of Adana's Çukurova district. (AA Photo)

Authorities have detained 44 suspects, including Çukurova Mayor Emrah Kozay and his predecessor Soner Çetin, as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities at the municipality in the southern province of Adana.

The suspects include four deputy mayors, according to the investigation.

The chief prosecutor’s office in Adana launched the probe into allegations of irregularities in public tenders and direct procurement, questionable purchases through a municipality-affiliated company and bribery involving contractors awarded municipal contracts.

The suspects face charges including establishing, managing or belonging to a criminal organization, bribery, aggravated fraud and rigging public tenders.

Authorities launched an operation targeting 51 suspects following complaints included in the case file. Seven suspects who could not be found at their registered addresses are being sought.

Meanwhile, a court has ordered the arrest of the chauffeur of the acting mayor of Istanbul’s Üsküdar district, Dündar Ziya Gültekin, on suspicion of causing death through negligence in a traffic accident that killed the latter on Oct. 15.

Gültekin was traveling from Istanbul to Ankara when the vehicle crashed in the northwestern province of Düzce. He died at a hospital, while four other people were injured in the accident.

He had been elected acting mayor of Üsküdar on Oct. 8 in a vote that shifted control of the municipality from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The previous mayoral election, won by the CHP candidate, was annulled by a court.

The election was held after Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş was arrested and suspended from office on July 31. Dedetaş won the 2024 polls with nearly 50 percent of the vote, defeating AKP’s Hilmi Türkmen.

The CHP and the main opposition New Party would each field candidates in the next election, officials confirmed.

The Üsküdar municipal council has 23 AKP members, while the CHP and the New Party each hold nine seats.