Turkey detains 57 in Istanbul municipality tender rigging probe
Turkish police detained 57 suspects on Monday in a corruption investigation into procurement processes at an Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality subsidiary, Boğaziçi Facility Management Services. Officers from the Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Unit conducted simultaneous raids across six provinces, including Istanbul, Adana, and Bursa. The suspects are accused of bid rigging within an organized network, violating public procurement regulations.
Turkish police detained 57 suspects on Monday in a corruption investigation targeting procurement processes at an Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality subsidiary, Boğaziçi Facility Management Services (Boğaziçi Tesis Yönetim Hizmetleri A.Ş.).
Officers from the Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Unit conducted simultaneous raids across six provinces — Istanbul, Adana, Bursa, Diyarbakir, Konya and Yalova — detaining the suspects at multiple addresses, officials said. The suspects are accused of bid rigging within an organized network, violating public procurement regulations by manipulating tender processes and conducting transactions that breach procurement law. The detainees were transferred to Istanbul police for questioning.
The operation is the latest in a broader corruption probe that led to the arrest of former Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu on March 19, 2025, on charges including bribery, tender rigging and money laundering. Prosecutors are seeking up to 2,430 years in prison for Imamoğlu. The 107 defendants, including Imamoğlu, began testifying in custody on March 9, 2026.
Prosecutors allege the suspects inflicted a public expense loss of TL 161 billion ($3.8 billion) through bribes. A total of 402 suspects have been indicted in the case, with 105 remanded in custody, including Imamoğlu.