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In a new development of the corruption investigation launched into the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), media ties to the case were uncovered.
Media reports said that media posts were examined in favor of the network allegedly established by former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu.
Murat Ongun, believed to lead the press wing of this network, and Emrah Bağdatlı, operating under his directives, were identified. Also, the journalists involved, whose financial transactions were referenced in the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) reports, were mentioned, and allegations were made against them during the statements taken.
In this context, statements will be taken from Journalist Şaban Sevinç, journalist and CHP Communications Coordinator Yavuz Oğhan, Aykırı Editor-in-Chief Batuhan Çolak, Journalist Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, Journalists Ruşen Çakır and Soner Yalçın as “suspects.”
The journalists are accused of “publicly spreading false information” and “willingly aiding a network.” Their statements will be taken at the Istanbul Police Department Financial Crimes Bureau.
Meanwhile, the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Information Technology Officer O.G.E. was detained on charges of “illegally obtaining personal data” within the scope of the “Corruption” investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday.
The report by the National Cyber Incident Response Center (USOM) discovered that the data belonging to 3.7 million citizens was transferred from 20 municipal servers to foreign servers and later offered for sale on the dark web for $50,000. The report linked the breach to two projects, “Istanbul Senin” (Istanbul Is Yours) and “Istanbul Hanem,” both part of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s (IBB) digital transformation initiative.
The investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s Counterterrorism Bureau found that personal data of about 11.3 million residents, including national ID numbers, family information, addresses, birth dates, phone numbers and polling details, were stored in files such as “hane_veri_mdm.csv” and shared among IBB employees through corporate emails. Some of these files were also sent to foreign companies.
