Explosive new testimony has emerged in the ongoing bribery and corruption investigation targeting the Metropolitan Municipality of Türkiye’s southern Antalya province, shedding light on allegations of widespread graft involving cash-filled bags, real estate transactions under false names and luxury vehicles exchanged for favors.
Three informants have come forward with detailed accounts accusing Mayor Muhittin Böcek, his son Gökhan, and several associates of soliciting bribes from local businessmen under threats and pressure, Turkish media reported Monday.
Böcek, elected from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was arrested in July in the investigation, and more suspects, including his son and former and current daughters-in-law, were apprehended in ensuing operations.
One of the central witnesses, businessperson Emin H., testified that he was coerced into paying millions of liras during election season last year. He alleged that Böcek initially contacted him through WhatsApp, requesting financial support for the local elections. When he refused, he said, the mayor threatened him, warning that all of his business dealings with the municipality would be jeopardized.
“After that, his son Gökhan came to my office and demanded TL 1 million in cash and 150 fuel cards worth another million,” Emin H. said in his statement. “I delivered the money in black bags.”
The businessman further claimed that a license for a gas station project in the Kepez district was only granted after he provided another TL 1 million and a luxury Land Rover vehicle allegedly demanded by Gökhan Böcek. He said municipal officials delayed approvals for months until payments were made.
“I didn’t commit any crime,” Emin H. said. “I gave it under pressure and threats. I trust only the state, and I am telling everything I know to expose this injustice in Antalya,” the businessperson said.
He also recounted how his investment in Altınova was obstructed unless he agreed to work with planners chosen by the municipality. He said Gökhan Böcek warned him, “No one can do business in this city without my father’s knowledge.”
Another witness, former Deputy Mayor Tuncay S., who had served for 25 years in the municipality, described what he called a systematic bribery network. He alleged that money was regularly collected from contractors in the form of “donations” or “aid,” often delivered directly to the mayor in black bags.
In one striking claim, he said that during the 2018 presidential elections, Böcek instructed him to collect TL 200,000 from contractors to support then-CHP candidate Muharrem Ince.
Tuncay S. alleged he delivered the cash in a briefcase to Böcek’s office, where he personally handed it to Ince’s son, Salih.
“I don’t know if it was truly election aid or a political bargain, but the money was collected from contractors. Böcek wanted me to see it,” he said.
The testimonies also describe an elaborate scheme of concealing bribes through property transfers. Former Antep official Ismail E. claimed that multiple apartments, plots of land and shops were registered under his name but actually belonged to Böcek. “I am just a front. The title deeds are in my name, but the properties belong to him,” he testified.
The investigation file also highlights allegations of threats against businessmen in the Altınova district, where investors said they were forced to work with municipality-approved planners or risk having their projects blocked.
