63 suspects transferred to courthouse in Bakırköy Municipality operation
The father and uncle of Municipality Mayor Ayşegül Ovalıoğlu were also detained in the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's investigation into bid rigging and bribery.
In an operation conducted by Provincial Gendarmerie Command units against Bakırköy Municipality, 58 suspects including Mustafa Özdemir, the father of Municipality Mayor Ayşegül Ovalıoğlu, and Metin Soğuksu, her uncle, were taken into custody; with 5 additional persons added during the investigation, a total of 63 suspects were transferred to Bakırköy Courthouse.
According to reports reaching the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, irregularities that caused public loss were committed in the municipality's procurement and service acquisition tender files, and business operators requesting workplace operating licenses were demanded money in violation of law, while those who refused payment had their license procedures left pending. Based on these allegations, the prosecutor's office launched an investigation into the crimes of "bid rigging" and "bribery."
Among those detained are Deputy Mayors Abdülhamit Pehlivan, Nurcan Alan, Cemalettin Özdemir, Arda Karadağ and Ali Rıza Akyüz, as well as two municipal council members. After statements were taken by the public prosecutor, 40 suspects—21 of them municipal personnel and 19 firm representatives—were referred to the on-duty Criminal Peace Court with requests for arrest; 17 suspects including Mustafa Özdemir and Metin Soğuksu were referred with requests for judicial supervision. Six suspects were released after giving statements to the prosecutor's office.