Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Accuses Halk TV's Mahiroğlu of Bribery of 14.4 Million TL

Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office: The focus of the bribery, tender manipulation, and money laundering investigation into Halk TV Board Chairman Cafer Mahiroğlu is not a television channel, but the Izmir-based vehicle maintenance company BUSTECH A.Ş.

According to the investigation file, Mahiroğlu used his connections with the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality to establish BUSTECH, transferred its management to individuals he designated, and obtained benefits through municipal tenders. The file shows an amount of 14 million 464 thousand TL as unrecorded bribery payments.

The timeline is notable: While prosecutors state that Mahiroğlu left the country on March 10, 2025, exactly 18 days later BUSTECH took over a 164.7 million lira "spare parts replacement" tender from the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality through negotiated procedure. When such allegations were last in the headlines in autumn 2024, Mahiroğlu had denied the investigation; this time, however, the file has expanded with concrete tender figures.

In the prosecutor's file, a name appears that is attributed to Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tugay, but the context is not clearly specified; Cumhuriyet notes that the prosecutor's office has not placed the names on record as an official statement.