Authorities in the central province of Eskişehir issued detention warrants for 60 suspects, and 23 were detained so far on Thursday on charges of corruption in the province’s Tepebaşı municipality.
Among the suspects were deputy mayors of the district where the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) won the 2024 elections. Almost all suspects were municipal bureaucrats, and they are accused of a spate of charges, from embezzlement and forgery of official documents to tax fraud, money laundering and abuse of public duty. Police teams searched the municipality building in the early hours of Thursday.
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Eskişehir said in a statement that the probe followed tip-offs and criminal complaints and was based on evidence regarding the charges, including reports by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK). Prosecutors said the investigation uncovered irregularities in some public tenders launched by the municipality, including fake letters of tender in tenders regarding the acquisition of goods and services, and invoices with inflated fees for goods and services.
The municipalities run by the CHP have been in the spotlight for alleged widespread corruption. Since late 2024, mayors and top bureaucrats of municipalities were detained or arrested for bribery for zoning, construction permits and awarding lucrative tenders in exchange for bribes. Tanju Özcan, media-savvy mayor of the northern province of Bolu who rose to prominence for his anti-migrant rhetoric, is among them. On Wednesday, prosecutors unveiled an indictment against Özcan and 18 other suspects on charges of corruption and bribery. The mayor, who was detained in February, faces prison sentences of up to 263 years if convicted.
The indictment states that Özcan held meetings with representatives of retail chains in his office and requested some companies to sign advertising contracts with a municipal subsidiary. The companies refusing to sign these advertising contracts were subjected to inspections, according to the indictment. Ali Sarıyıldız, chair of a foundation linked to the municipality, who was detained in the probe, confessed to the investigators that süpermarket chains were pressured by the municipality to sign advertising contracts. In another case, prosecutors say Özcan and deputy mayor Süleyman Can asked TL 2.5 million from a contractor in exchange for building permits.
The indictment stated that part of the money was delivered in cash, while another tranche was transferred to accounts of a municipal subsidiary.
