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With the latest confession in the corruption investigation against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the number of suspects released under the effective remorse law has climbed to 32.
Burak Korzay, the general manager of ISFALT, an asphalt production subsidiary of IBB, was released from prison on Monday morning after pleading “adequate remorse.”
Korzay, who was arrested on June 4, provided testimony on July 10 and July 21 that prosecutors deemed sufficient for his release. His statements reportedly helped advance the case, according to judicial sources.
CHP-run municipalities are accused of taking bribes and engaging in irregularities in public tenders. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently described operations and allegations as “tentacles of an octopus” that stretch across various administrative bodies overseeing municipalities.
Although CHP-run municipalities were already under investigation and several mayors were detained for corruption last year, IBB has been under the spotlight as its high-profile mayor was arrested in March on graft charges.
Investigators have launched successive operations into an alleged criminal network run by former Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu and expanded another investigation linked to a businessman who was awarded a lucrative contract by district municipalities.
Operations are the culmination of four separate investigations and are mainly based on the confessions of Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, a businessperson identified as the head of a criminal network active in municipalities. Aktaş’s confessions revealed the scale of corruption at IBB and other CHP-run districts, including Istanbul’s Beşiktaş, as well as municipalities in other cities, such as southern Adana.
As the investigation deepens, a growing number of former suspects, including many prominent businesspeople, municipal officials and legal professionals, have opted to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for leniency.
Businessperson Ahmet Sari and Ismail Sari, construction figure Adem Soytekin and his brother Ogün Soytekin are among those who have testified under adequate remorse provisions.
Other notable individuals who provided testimony include Nezahat Kurt, ISTAÇ Board Chair Ziya Gökmen Togay, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality surveying engineer Yakup Öner and lawyers Orçun Muhittin Yılmaz and Bülent Yılmaz. While several of these testimonies led to releases, not all statements were deemed substantial enough to warrant a release. Togay, Öner and Yılmaz, despite their cooperation, remain in custody.
The list of released suspects features high-level officials and influential figures across various sectors. Among them are: Murat Abbas, the head of IBB Culture Inc.; Ertan Yıldız, head of the IBB Subsidiaries and Affiliates Commission; businesspeople Ali Nuhoğlu, Seyfi Beyaz, Ahmet Sari, Ismail Sari, Ahmet Çiçek, Eyüp Subaşı, Noyan Kırmızıgül, Murat Ilbak, Muhittin Palazoğlu, Kabil Taşçı, Mehmet Ilhan Gülay and Nezahat Kurt.
Other suspects include Servet Yıldırım, personal driver to the arrested suspect Hüseyin Köksal, lawyer Süleyman Atik, construction technician Altan Gözcü and accounting manager Murat Bıyık; advertiser Hüseyin Kum; owners of Yapı Merkez Construction, Mustafa Başar Arıoğlu, Erdem Arıoğlu and Özge Arıoğlu; Ogün Soytekin, brother of arrested Adem Soytekin; and Murat Erenler, his bodyguard; business people Şeyhmus Sarıboğa, Güngör Gürman, Hasan Özsoy, Taner Gümüş and Kadir Gümüş; lawyer Bülent Yılmaz; former CHP Şişli Municipal Council Member Umut Şenol; and businessman Berat Çağrı Kapki.
