A court on July 14 ordered the arrest of Çankaya Mayor Hüseyin Can Güner and 23 other suspects as part of an investigation into alleged bribery, bid-rigging and organized crime linked to the Ankara district municipality.
The chief prosecutor’s office in Ankara has been investigating allegations of establishing and participating in a criminal organization, bribery and rigging public tenders. Authorities had issued detention warrants for 36 suspects, including Güner, with 30 people ultimately taken into custody.
Following questioning by prosecutors, 30 suspects, including the mayor, were referred to a criminal court on request for their arrest. The court ordered the detention of 24 suspects, while six others were released under judicial supervision and banned from leaving the country.
In his police and prosecutorial statements, Güner denied wrongdoing, arguing that he had no direct responsibility for municipal tender procedures.
The investigation is one of several recent corruption probes targeting municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Party figures have criticized the investigations as politically motivated.
