Bribery operation against İstanbul’s CHP-led district municipality

Twenty two suspects were taken into custody today (January 18) in an operation related to the bribery allegations at the Büyükçekmece Municipality in İstanbul, led by the Republican People's Party (CHP)

The İstanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Combat Division initiated an investigation into allegations related to zoning issues at the municipality, coordinated by the Büyükçekmece Public Prosecutor's Office. The investigation involves charges of "qualified fraud," "bribery," and "forgery of official documents."

According to a report from the Anadolu Agency, as part of the investigation, it was determined that the foundations of around 140 luxury villas, with a total value of approximately 8 billion liras, planned to be opened for residence in April by a construction company, were found to be faulty.

After completing their work, the teams conducted simultaneous operations, identifying the identities and addresses of the suspects.

Among those taken into custody are N.S., the deputy mayor (vice president responsible for zoning) at Büyükçekmece Municipality, and A.Ç., the Director of Urban Planning and Development.

İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, speaking in an event, stated that they saw the bribery operation in Büyükçekmece as an "attempt to damage their reputation” in the run-up to the local elections. He added that they are with the mayor of Büyükçekmece, Hasan Akgün. 

In the previous local elections held in 2019, the CHP ended the decades-long rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Additionally, CHP won the mayoralty in 14 out of İstanbul's 39 districts, where AKP candidates were elected as mayors in 24 districts.

The local elections will be held on March 31. (PE)