Turkey is rocked by a major corruption and organized crime investigation.
Turkish prosecutors accused Istanbul mayor, his close aides and dozens of others of embezzlement, extortion, aggravated fraud, bid rigging in public tenders, and several other serious charges including unlawful seizure of personal data. A court in Istanbul today has ordered the arrest of the mayor and his team, pending trial.
The corruption and organized crime probe in Istanbul mainly involves main opposition party CHP mayors and members. What is really astonishing is that almost all the tipsters and whistleblowers were also members of the same party, who were sidelined last year by the mayor’s team.
Turkish courts in the past decades have ruled against the ruling party of President Erdogan several times. Elected or appointed, no one is above the law.
The prosecutors claim probing a major corruption of over $20 billion in Istanbul municipality in just a few years.
• A few facts about the Istanbul corruption probe:
Istanbul mayor knew it coming, so he rushed to start his presidential campaign 3 years before the next election. Why? Analysts say he wanted to play to the tribunes by deflecting the attention from corruption case to his political goals.
Turkish prosecutors have reportedly started the corruption probe on Istanbul mayor Imamoglu and his aides nearly 2 years ago, long before he made his presidential intentions clear. Presidential candidacy or being elected to office is not a shield either, no one is above the law.
Normally, candidates start their campaigns only months before the election date. Istanbul mayor, however, declared himself the opposition’s candidate for president way too early and only weeks before the corruption case hit him to make it look like politically motivated.
• How Turks view the Istanbul corruption investigation?
We are very divided, as usual. No solid support for Istanbul mayor is observed. His poor performance as a mayor for 5 years and worsening problems of the mega city significantly lowered his popularity. People won’t miss him as a mayor.
Main opposition party and a big chunk of its voters continue to claim that it is a politically motivated move to block Istanbul mayor’s presidential bid in 2028.
Western media that traditionally support any movement or individual they think are most friendly to the interests of anti-Turkey foreign powers report the situation as if Turkey is a lawless state, where anyone can commit crimes, do extortion and embezzle billions of dollars.
Until the final ruling of the courts, no one is guilty in line with the presumption of innocence.
