Turkish authorities have carried out new raids targeting officials linked to two of the country’s largest opposition-controlled city administrations, detaining more than 30 people as part of ongoing, multi-wave investigations into alleged bribery, bid-rigging and organised crime.
| Turkey: new arrests in sweeping corruption probes |
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| Turkey: new arrests in sweeping corruption probes |
Turkish authorities have launched a new round of arrests targeting officials linked to the opposition-run Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), detaining 14 people in the latest phase of a sprawling investigation into allegations by the central government of corruption and links to terrorist organisations. This morning (August 12), the Istanbul Gendarmerie conducted a raid targeting associates of Taner Çetin, who heads the municipality’s Press and Public Relations department. Çetin himself was arrested in May after being accused of manipulating contracts to benefit companies linked to him and accepting bribes in return.
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| Turkey: new arrests in sweeping corruption probes |
Among those detained this time are two of Çetin’s drivers, Doğukan Arıcı and İlkay Onok, along with his wife Canan Çetin and son Örsan Çetin, as well as other municipal employees and business associates. Prosecutors accuse them of membership in a criminal organisation, bribery, aggravated fraud, and bid-rigging.
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Bribery investigation in Antalya expands
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Antalya, authorities detained 17 people in the fourth wave of an ongoing bribery investigation targeting the metropolitan municipality, also governed by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The detainees include owners of jewellery shops and currency exchange offices, who are alleged to have helped conceal illegal payments.
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According to the Antalya Public Prosecutor’s Office, several contractors who secured municipal tenders — identified by the initials A.A., B.Ç., M.Y., and Y.Y. — paid bribes totalling about 195 million Turkish lira (around US$6 million) to Mayor Muhittin Böcek to facilitate the receipt of contract payments. Investigations reveal that some funds were transferred to a currency exchange bureau in the coastal district of Finike, while others were handed over in cash and later converted into gold for safekeeping.
Mayor Böcek was arrested in June alongside his son, Mustafa Gökhan Böcek, who faces allegations of demanding 25 million lira from an unnamed businessman during the 2024 local election campaign and using the businessman’s money to purchase a luxury property worth 30 million lira in his ex-wife’s name. The ex-wife, Zeynep Kerimoğlu, was released but placed under travel restrictions.
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Nine waves since March
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality investigation began in earnest on 19 March 2025 and has since evolved through a series of nine major coordinated operations, sweeping through multiple layers of the city’s government apparatus. The probes have targeted alleged corruption, fraudulent tender practices, and, in some instances, terrorism-related charges.
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The CHP’s electoral victories in Istanbul and Antalya in 2019 marked a symbolic challenge to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Critics of the investigations argue that the prosecutions serve as politically motivated efforts to undermine the opposition, while government officials maintain the operations reflect legitimate law enforcement actions to tackle entrenched corruption.
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The first wave marked a significant escalation when Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading figure in the opposition and CHP’s presidential candidate for 2028, was detained along with several district mayors, senior bureaucrats, and municipal officials. Around 106 people were arrested in this initial phase, with 54 subsequently remanded in custody. İmamoğlu and some other key officials were suspended from their posts.
The second wave in late April focused on further senior municipal figures, including Istanbul Water Authority (İSKİ) General Manager Şafak Başa and İmamoğlu’s brother-in-law Cevat Kaya. Fifty people were detained in the raid, with 18 subsequently jailed.
Medyascope'u destekle. Medyascope'a abone ol.
Medyascope’u senin desteğin ayakta tutuyor. Hiçbir patronun, siyasi çıkarın güdümünde değiliz; hangi haberi yapacağımıza biz karar veriyoruz. Tıklanma uğruna değil, kamu yararına çalışıyoruz. Bağımsız gazeteciliğin sürmesi, sitenin açık kalması ve herkesin doğru bilgiye erişebilmesi senin desteğinle mümkün.
In May, the investigation expanded to subsidiaries of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, including Media A.Ş., which manages the city’s municipal media outlets, and Culture A.Ş., responsible for organising cultural programmes and managing public arts initiatives. Both companies faced allegations of irregular tender practices. During this phase, twenty people were detained, including Taner Çetin, the municipality’s press director who remains a key figure in the ongoing probes. Thirteen of those detained were subsequently jailed.
Additional raids throughout May targeted landscaping and municipal companies, such as İstanbul Ağaç ve Peyzaj A.Ş., as well as departments responsible for waste management (İSTAÇ), housing development (KİPTAŞ), and road maintenance. Arrests extended beyond Istanbul to other provinces including İzmir, Trabzon, Antalya, Tunceli, and Kocaeli.
In late May, a sixth wave resulted in the detention of five district mayors including Büyükçekmece Mayor Hasan Akgün and Gaziosmanpaşa Mayor Hakan Bahçetepe. Thirty-eight individuals were detained, with 22 held in custody.
The summer months saw further crackdowns, notably the seventh wave in July leading to the arrest of Adana Metropolitan Mayor Zeydan Karalar and other officials. Subsequent raids targeted Boğaziçi A.Ş., a municipal company, with 17 detained and eight jailed.
The ninth wave, also in July, focused on a criminal network led by Aziz İhsan Aktaş, implicated in rigging tenders for İETT (Istanbul public transport) and İSFALT (asphalt works). Warrants were issued across six provinces, leading to 25 detentions and five jailings.
Altogether, more than 320 people have been detained and at least 139 jailed. Many suspects have been placed under judicial controls such as house arrest or travel bans. Prosecutors say dozens have cooperated through plea agreements, resulting in the release of several detainees under judicial supervision.
