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A recent espionage investigation targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality revealed the alleged misuse of millions of Istanbul residents’ personal data, accusing the former administration led by then-Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of transferring the information abroad to Germany and the United States and offering it for sale online.
According to Türkiye daily, prosecutors detained four additional suspects as part of the widening probe into claims that the municipality’s "Istanbul Senin" ("Istanbul Is Yours") mobile application, used by millions of residents, enabled unauthorized access to user information. Investigators are examining whether portions of the data were exported to foreign servers and appeared for sale on dark-web marketplaces.
As part of the probe, authorities are investigating claims that the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s digital infrastructure was used for espionage-related activities.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Ozkan, a consultant to Imamoglu, was also detained on Friday in connection with the ongoing investigation.
Questions over the municipality’s handling of digital information date back to 2019, when Imamoglu, shortly after taking office, authorized a team to review and copy the city’s electronic databases. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) challenged the move, arguing that it posed data-security risks. A court later suspended the authorization, yet investigators now claim that data replication continued despite the ruling.
Preliminary findings suggest that data belonging to 4.7 million users—including address and geolocation details—may have been improperly accessed or transferred. The investigation also extends to the "IBB Hanem" sub-application, which reportedly processed voter and demographic data for about 11 million citizens.
Two of the suspects were said to work in the municipality’s Department of Smart Urbanization, while others were assigned to its Communications Coordination Center. Authorities are assessing whether the actions violated Türkiye’s Personal Data Protection Law.
Filings include testimony from a confidential witness and several audio recordings suggesting that a private company, Reklam Istanbul, obtained access to municipal databases.
The witness alleged that the firm monetized user data by selling it to district-level political candidates and private companies.
The recordings also reportedly reference Murat Ongun, the municipality’s spokesperson and chair of the board of Medya A.S., a municipal media company that allegedly awarded more than 70 contracts to Reklam Istanbul between 2022 and 2024.
Prosecutors are investigating potential links to foreign actors and evaluating whether the alleged transfers breached Türkiye’s data-protection regulations.
The investigation, launched after Huseyin Gun’s arrest in July 2025, expanded this week with arrest warrants issued for three additional individuals—Imamoglu's consultant Necati Ozkan, journalist Merdan Yanardag, and former Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu—alleging that Gun maintained contact with foreign intelligence operatives, gave instructions to Ozkan, and exchanged encrypted messages with Yanardag regarding intelligence activities.
Imamoglu, already jailed on corruption charges that led to his removal from office, now faces separate espionage allegations under the latest phase of the probe.
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