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A Turkish court ordered the arrest of 26 suspects late Tuesday, including Bayrampasa District Mayor Hasan Mutlu, as part of a corruption investigation into municipal operations involving charges of bribery, fraud and bid-rigging.
The arrests followed raids by the Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Unit that resulted in 45 people being detained and questioned at the Istanbul Courthouse in Caglayan.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched the investigation into Bayrampasa Municipality on charges of "extortion," "bribery," "aggravated fraud" and "bid-rigging," according to the Anadolu Agency.
Of the latest nine suspects referred to court, six were ordered arrested while three were released under judicial control.
Among those initially detained in simultaneous operations were Mayor Hasan Mutlu, Deputy Mayors Atilla Ozen, Hakan Bas, Lutfi Kadiogullari and Gunduz Kalkan, and Legal Affairs Director Bilgehan Yagci.
The suspects were questioned at the Organized Crime Investigation Bureau before 39 of them, including Mutlu, were sent to the criminal court with prosecutors requesting arrest warrants. Six others were sent with requests for judicial control measures.
The investigation represents one of several recent corruption probes targeting municipal governments in Türkiye's largest city.
Bayrampasa, located on Istanbul's European side, is one of the city's 39 districts.
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