Suspicious in Esenyurt tender: 'I gave 9 million TL in the office'

Witness statements in the Esenyurt Municipality tender investigation substantiate claims that contracting firms transferred an average of 20 percent of their earned value payments to municipal officials. According to the investigation file, witness Halil Yılmaz stated that Yusuf Ulutaş demanded a total of 9 million TL from him in order to collect the earned value payments he was owed from the municipality; he declared that he delivered this amount in Ulutaş's office on two separate dates.

Second witness Orhan Yıldırım stated that Ulutaş requested money from him three or four times, and that he made payments totaling between 300,000 and 400,000 dollars in the office. The corroborating statements of the two witnesses indicate that the investigation is targeting a systematic bribery scheme in the tender processes.

Esenyurt experienced one of Turkey's largest municipal trustee appointments in October 2023; since that time, the district administration has been run under trustee supervision. The wire report did not specify which Republic's Chief Prosecutor's Office is conducting the investigation or whether any detention or arrest orders have been issued.