Police detain 29 over Istanbul Municipality corruption probe

ISTANBUL

Police on May 8 detained 29 people as part of an investigation into corruption allegations at Istanbul Municipality, according to reports.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has been imprisoned for over a year and is accused of running a large criminal network.

İmamoğlu is currently on trial alongside 413 co-defendants. If convicted, he risks 2,430 years in prison.

The latest detainees are executives of the municipality’s landscaping subsidiary responsible for parks and green spaces, media reports said.

In a statement regarding the operation, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the raid targeted allegations that “a fictitious tender scheme was unlawfully operated through the subsidiary company Ağaç ve Peyzaj A.Ş., leading to bid rigging in public tenders.”

The statement said detention warrants were issued for 30 suspects as part of the operation, with 29 taken into custody, while one suspect was abroad.

More than 10 operations related to the Istanbul Municipality investigation have been carried out since last year.

The CHP maintains that the arrest of İmamoğlu and the legal actions against its other mayors are politically motivated. The party has previously nominated İmamoğlu as its presidential candidate for the next elections.

The first trial sessions of the corruption probe have continued since March. Given the unusually large number of defendants, court authorities began constructing a new courtroom specifically for the trial, but the facility was not completed in time.

Over 30 defendants have since been released, with trials ongoing for the others.