Rıza Akpolat, mayor of Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district and a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has been detained in a corruption investigation. 47 other individuals have also been detained in connection with the investigation. CHP party chairman Özgür Özel has alleged that the investigation is politically motivated.
The investigation focuses on the alleged use of bribes to secure tender bids for lucrative projects organized by the district government. Akpolat and the 47 others taken into custody are alleged to have used bribes to secure the tenders for their own companies or companies close to them.
According to a statement released by the Istanbul prosecution office, the ‘for-profit scheme’ was carried out under the leadership of crime syndicate boss Aziz İhsan Aktaş.
Akpolat was reportedly arrested in the Balıkesir province in Turkey’s Marmara region.
The brother of Deputy Interior Minister Mehmet Aktaş is also targeted in the investigation.
CHP reaction
In a post on social media, CHP chairman Özgür Özel described the case targeting Akpolat as “Yet another link in the chain of injustice from our politicized judiciary.”
Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, also a member of the CHP, said in a post: “We stand beside our district mayor and will continue to expose the injustices present throughout this process.”
Similar messages of support came from Istanbul’s party head Özgür Çelik, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, and others.
Ahmet Özer implicated
Also implicated in the investigation is Ahmet Özer, a former CHP mayor of Istanbul,. Esenyurt district who was deposed and detained in late October over alleged terrorism ties.
Özer’s deposition and replacement with an Erdoğan-appointed trustee was notable as the. first time a CHP official had been replaced by a ‘trustee replacement’. Such removals and. replacements have existed for years in Turkey but had previously only targeted politicians. from pro-Kurdish parties.
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Controversy over tender bids in Turkey
Corruption in the awarding of construction tenders has been a controversial issue for years. in Turkey. Former CHP chairman and presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who ran. against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in May 2023’s general elections, made the issue. central in his campaign. Five companies with close ties to the Erdoğan government and. frequent recipients of lucrative contracts were labelled by Kılıçdaroğlu as the ‘Gang of Five’.
In a notable expose from late 2021, Kılıçdaroğlu alleged that the construction tender of a. high-speed rail line had been cancelled after the recipient company was not from Erdoğan’s .inner circle. Kılıçdaroğlu alleged that a later tender was then awarded to an Eroğdan-linked. company for three times the price.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
