The father and son of disgraced former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, Hasan and Selim Imamoğlu, are set to testify on Wednesday in the case for bribery and laundering criminal incomes of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB).
The case of the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office against suspects, including Ekrem Imamoğlu, for the crimes of "being a leader of a criminal organization," "being a member of a criminal organization," "extortion," "bribery," "aggravated fraud," "illegally obtaining personal data" and "tender rigging" is ongoing.
An instruction letter was written to the Istanbul police directorate to take the defense of Hasan and Selim Imamoğlu within the scope of the evidence in the case.
The Criminal Court of Peace decided to impose a judicial control measure in the form of a "ban on leaving the country" on suspicion.
Imamoğlu is at the heart of an array of accusations focusing on what prosecutors call a “criminal network” that he led. The network at the IBB reportedly took bribes from businesspeople in exchange for permits issued by the municipality.
Some suspects who collaborated with authorities as part of a plea deal claimed Imamoğlu sought to fund his campaign for the presidency through bribes.
Although municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) were already under investigation and several mayors had been detained for corruption last year, the IBB has been under the spotlight, as its high-profile mayor was arrested in March, shortly before the CHP announced him as a future presidential candidate.
Digging deeper into an alleged criminal network run by Imamoğlu and expanding another investigation linked to a businessperson whom the district municipalities had awarded lucrative contracts, investigators launched further operations, rounding up municipal bureaucrats and other mayors.
