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A prosecutor accused of alerting a criminal gang allegedly led by disgraced former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu before operations against the gang was suspended from duty, the Sabah newspaper reported on Monday.
The prosecutor, identified with her initials as S.Ç.S., met Mehmet Pehlivan, Imamoğlu’s lawyer, prior to the anti-corruption operation that led to the mayor’s arrest in March. The Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) launched an investigation into a suspected prosecutor who is also accused of hurling a threat at another prosecutor working on Imamoğlu’s case.
The indictment in the case against the Imamoğlu gang revealed that Pehlivan allegedly met with a “red-haired female prosecutor” in a hotel room before the corruption operation. Investigators later identified the woman as prosecutor S.Ç.S., who works at the Istanbul Courthouse. She is also accused of indirectly threatening one of the prosecutors handling the Imamoğlu case, reportedly warning, “These files are troublesome. Be careful. This could come back to you.”
The allegation first surfaced in statements by Servet Yıldırım, the former driver of businessperson Hüseyin Köksal, who is jailed and seeking leniency in the same case. Yıldırım, described in the indictment as the “keeper of Imamoğlu’s funds,” claimed the meeting took place at the Raffles Hotel in Zorlu Center, a location where the alleged organized crime leaders held private discussions.
Yıldırım said the secret meeting between Pehlivan and “a red-haired female prosecutor” lasted three to four hours in room 2604. He claimed it happened 10 to 15 days before the first operations targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) and was held as part of “defense planning for the gang.”
In his statement, Yıldırım recounted that while he was under house arrest after the operation, his brother, Güven Yıldırım, told him he had escorted the red-haired woman to the hotel room before the raid.
HSK appointed inspectors to investigate the claims. Hotel security footage, phone records, messages and communication logs were reviewed. Prosecutor S.Ç.S. was identified after Güven Yıldırım recognized her in a photograph. Cell-tower data also confirmed that both S.Ç.S. and Pehlivan were at the Raffles Hotel during the same time frame.
HTS records further indicated that the prosecutor and Pehlivan met on several other occasions – two to three hours at a time – at different locations before the operation. They also met in Istanbul’s posh Nişantaşı neighborhood the day after the raid and spent two hours together. Inspectors noted that S.Ç.S. frequently changed cell phones; she claimed she switched devices because they were not functioning properly.
The HSK took the prosecutor’s testimony as part of the investigation. She denied all allegations, saying she had visited the Zorlu complex several times but insisted witness statements were inaccurate. She has reportedly been suspended and reassigned to the Şanlıurfa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in southeastern Türkiye.
Imamoğlu, a popular figure in the corruption-tainted main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), faces a thick indictment into his wrongdoings. The details in the 3,809-page indictment unfolded last month. “The Imamoğlu Criminal Organization,” as prosecutors describe, dramatically boosted their fortune, prosecutors say.
Along with the mayor, his close associates at IBB thrived on bribes and converted them into tens of properties, from villas to valuable land in Türkiye’s financial hub.
Prosecutors accuse suspects of inflicting a “public expense loss” amounting to TL 161 billion ($3.8 billion) through bribes. A total of 402 suspects are indicted in the case, including 105 who were remanded in custody. Imamoğlu is among them.
The lengthy indictment, as reported by the Sabah newspaper, demonstrates that the criminal organization founded a “system” or some sort of bribery pool to share the illicit gains and, through intricate but shady practices, propelled their wealth.
The indictment seeks 2,430 years for Imamoğlu for a variety of criminal charges, including using public funds for a potential presidential bid.
The suspects face charges related to 143 separate criminal acts, including “establishing and leading a criminal organization,” “membership in a criminal organization,” “bribery,” “embezzlement,” “fraud against public institutions,” “money laundering,” “violations of the Tax Procedure Law,” “illegal data collection and dissemination,” “environmental pollution,” “public property damage” and “violations of the Forest and Mining Laws.”
The indictment named 99 individuals as members of the organization, with Imamoğlu identified as its founder and ringleader.
It said that 92 additional suspects were identified as members of the organization, while the remaining defendants were accused of committing crimes connected to the group’s activities.
The indictment alleges that Imamoğlu personally committed several crimes, including “forming a criminal organization,” “bribery” on 12 counts, “money laundering” on seven counts and “fraud against public institutions” on seven counts.
Although municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) were already under investigation and several mayors had been detained for corruption last year, the IBB has been under the spotlight, as its high-profile mayor was arrested in March, shortly before the CHP announced him as a future presidential candidate.
