Newsletters
Authorities detained 40 suspects, including Beyoglu District Mayor Inan Guney, in an expanding corruption investigation targeting Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) officials, with prosecutors pursuing charges ranging from criminal organization membership to bribery and bid-rigging.
The detentions come as the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office continues its investigation into suspects, including former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was arrested and subsequently suspended from his IBB presidency position.
Prosecutors are investigating the suspects on charges of "being a criminal organization manager," "criminal organization membership," "extortion," "bribery," "aggravated fraud," "unlawfully obtaining personal data," and "bid-rigging."
During the investigation, authorities identified 35 suspects, including Guney, who allegedly participated in multiple fraud schemes within Media Inc., Culture Inc. and IBB operations.
These individuals were reportedly connected to suspect Murat Ongun and fugitive suspect Emrah Bagdatli.
Police teams identified nine additional suspects operating within what investigators describe as the profit-driven criminal organization's social media structure, allegedly functioning under Ongun's control and maintaining confirmed contacts with Bagdatli.
Detention warrants were issued for 44 individuals whose identities were confirmed during the investigation. The Financial Crimes Unit conducted simultaneous operations across multiple locations, initially detaining 40 suspects, including Mayor Guney.
Two additional suspects were apprehended as operations continued, bringing the total number of detentions to 42. Police continue searching for the two remaining fugitive suspects.
Authorities released the names of those facing detention orders: "Beyoglu Mayor Inan Guney, IBB Presidential Advisor Yigit Oguz Duman, fugitive suspect Emrah Bagdatli's sister Ozge Bagdatli, Hasan Yalaz, Bora Aramaci, Aysun Vural, Esma Bayrak, Gungor Bozkurt, Hasan Erkan Kabakci, Ismail Akkaya, Asraf Engin Guner, Mehmet Kaya, Ersan Sik, Ibrahim Can Yaman, Yunus Gocer, Nurul Taha Yuksel, Alper Yildirim, Deniz Goleli, Duygu Fikirli, Sukru Findik, Nazli Dalar, Veysel Eren Guven, Burak Karakus, Alican Ayvatas, Mustafa Serez Yerli, Erdal Akbay, Mehmet Akif Bulut, Sabriye Akkaya, Cigdem Nasuhbeyoglu, Umit Karakaya, Mahir Gun, Recep Cebeci, Ferda Yildiz Selbasan, Yusuf Yuce, Kazim Eren Sonmez, Ahmet Bozkurt, Tarik Bora, Mesut Taskin, Tugba Kocak, Hare Dincer, Seyhan Ozcan, Mehmet Turkoglu, Utku Dogruyol, Zekai Kirat."
Among those detained is Ozge Bagdatli, identified as the sister of fugitive suspect Emrah Bagdatli, and Yigit Oguz Duman, an advisor to the IBB president.
1 min read
5 min read
