Former İzmir Mayor Among 120 Detained Over Corruption Probe

The probe centers on allegations of bid rigging and misconduct in public tenders launched after the municipality’s construction company, İZBETON, was granted authority over urban transformation projects.

İzmir, Turkey's third-largest city, has been a stronghold of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) for years. Soyer served as mayor from 2019 until 2024. In last year’s local elections, the party nominated Cemil Tugay, the city’s current mayor, as its candidate.

Authorities issued detention orders for 157 individuals in total. By midday, July 1, 120 had been taken into custody. Among them is CHP İzmir provincial chair Şenol Aslanoğlu, who was detained in the capital Ankara, where he had traveled for a party event and was to be transferred to İzmir for questioning.

Other prominent figures detained include İzmir Municipality’s former secretary general, the deputy mayor of Buca district, the former general director of the İzmir Water and Sewerage Administration (İZSU) and İZBETON’s former general manager.

The investigation follows a deadly 6.6-magnitude earthquake in 2020, centered on Greece’s Samos Island, which killed over 100 people in İzmir.

In its aftermath, İZBETON was granted expanded powers to carry out urban transformation work. Although the projects initially proceeded, complaints later filed by citizens prompted the prosecutor’s office to open an inquiry.

The allegations include tampering with public tenders awarded to third-party companies and claims that several documented services and construction works were either partially delivered or never carried out at all.

The detentions come in the wake of a similar March 19 operation in opposition-run Istanbul, which resulted in the detention of its mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu.

Source: HDN