Turkish police searched the headquarters of the Mersin Metropolitan Municipality on Wednesday and detained multiple suspects as part of a corruption investigation involving allegations of bribery, document forgery and bid rigging, prosecutors said.
The operation was launched under the coordination of the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and targeted individuals suspected of involvement in several crimes, including bribery, forgery of official documents, tender manipulation, fraud against public institutions and money laundering.
According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office, several suspects including individuals working within the People's Party (CHP)-run metropolitan municipality were detained during the operation.
Police teams from the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department carried out searches at the municipality’s building in the Akdeniz district early Wednesday as part of the investigation.
Authorities said the suspects were believed to be linked to irregularities involving public tenders and financial transactions affecting public institutions.
During the investigation, authorities also seized assets believed to be connected to the alleged crimes, including 21 properties, three vehicles and one marine vessel, the statement said.
“The suspects believed to be connected to the incident have been detained following an operation conducted for crimes including bribery, forgery of official documents, bid rigging, fraud against public institutions and laundering of criminal proceeds,” the prosecutor’s office said in its written statement.
Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing.
The main opposition CHP is under mounting scrutiny as a wave of corruption, bribery and terrorism-related investigations sweeps across its municipalities.
Authorities say several major investigations are underway into municipalities controlled by the CHP, covering allegations from large-scale tender rigging and bribery to financing terrorist organizations.
The most extensive probe targets the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), led by ousted mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, over claims of systematic corruption, fictitious tenders and abuse of public resources. Prosecutors allege a network, headed by senior municipal officials, rigged numerous public contracts. Imamoğlu and his aides deny all charges.
