Corruption probe expands with operations against three more mayors
ISTANBUL
A sweeping corruption investigation targeting opposition-led municipalities in Türkiye widened on July 5, with the mayors of the southern cities of Adana and Adıyaman detained, and the mayor of Antalya formally arrested.
Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere and Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar, mayor of Adana — both members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) — were detained in early morning raids on July 5. Karalar was detained near Istanbul, while Tutdere was arrested in the capital Ankara, where he resides.
Tutdere later posted on X that he was being transferred to Istanbul for further proceedings.
Simultaneous police searches were conducted at the municipal offices in both cities.
The detentions are part of a broader investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into alleged organized crime, bribery and bid-rigging.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has been imprisoned since late March on the carges of graft, with several mayors from the CHP also arrested in several operations.
According to a statement from the prosecutor's office, the allegations are based on testimony provided by a businessman who confessed to running a criminal network and paying bribes, and who is now cooperating with authorities. Prosecutors claimed that the mayors sought "unjust financial benefits" from contractors doing business with their municipalities.
Following the July 5 operation, Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek was jailed pending trial as part of a separate bribery investigation by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Böcek’s former daughter-in-law was briefly detained but later released. In his statement to the prosecutor, the mayor denied all allegations.
In Istanbul, Ahmet Şahin — interim mayor of the Büyükçekmece district, appointed following the arrest of Mayor Hasan Akgün — was also detained. The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office stated that Şahin is accused of receiving cash payments on behalf of individuals designated by the president of the Istanbul Municipality Sports Club, identified as F.K., based on statements from suspects seeking leniency under Türkiye’s “effective remorse” law.
Last week, former İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer was detained along with 137 municipal employees in an investigation into alleged tender-rigging and fraud. On July 4, Soyer and 59 others were formally jailed pending trial. Soyer’s lawyer condemned the decision as “clearly unjust, unlawful, and politically motivated.”
In response to the escalating operations, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel convened an emergency meeting of the party’s senior leadership.
Özel denounced the detentions as politically driven, arguing they were a direct response to the CHP’s victory in the 2024 local elections, which saw the party emerge as the leading force in many key municipalities. Citing recent polls suggesting the CHP is now Türkiye’s top party ahead of the presidential race, Özel renewed his call for early elections.
