16.06.2026 21:20
Mayor Bora Balcıoğlu, who was arrested as part of the financial misconduct investigation into the Silivri Municipality, has been suspended from duty by the Ministry of Interior. The Istanbul Governorship has decided to convene the Silivri Municipal Council on Saturday, June 20, at 10:00 AM to determine the new acting mayor.
The investigation initiated by the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the Silivri Municipality on charges of "establishing and managing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes," "being a member of an organization," "accepting and giving bribes," "extortion," "influence peddling," "misuse of office," "bid rigging," "fraud in the performance of an obligation," "causing zoning pollution," and "laundering assets derived from crime" continues.
BALCIOĞLU AND 9 OTHER SUSPECTS ARRESTED
In the operation coordinated by the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and carried out by the Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Branch Directorate, 10 suspects, including Mayor Bora Balcıoğlu, were arrested out of the 18 taken into custody. It was decided to release 8 suspects under judicial control measures.
REMOVED FROM DUTY
Following the development, the Ministry of Interior announced that Balcıoğlu had been temporarily suspended from duty as a precautionary measure. In a statement made on the ministry's official social media account, it was stated that the decision was made in accordance with Article 127 of the Constitution and Article 47 of the Municipality Law No. 5393.
INVESTIGATION
The Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had determined that certain works and transactions within the municipality were used for personal benefit, and irregularities were found in processes such as personnel recruitment, business transfer and leasing, zoning, permits, sealing, illegal construction, asset acquisition, and sale of municipal real estate.
An expert determination had been made that a public loss of 21,522,717 Turkish lira was incurred by selling a municipal property classified as unregistered/park area at a low price.
Based on these findings, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation on charges of "establishing and managing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes," "being a member of an organization," "accepting and giving bribes," "extortion," "influence peddling," "misuse of office," "bid rigging," "fraud in the performance of an obligation," "causing zoning pollution," and "laundering assets derived from crime."
The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued detention orders for the suspects on the grounds that the alleged acts were committed within an organized structure, and there was strong suspicion that Silivri Mayor Bora Balcıoğlu, considered the founder and leader of the organization, along with other suspects acting with him, obtained unjust benefits by exerting influence over municipal works and transactions.
In a simultaneous operation conducted by the Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Branch Directorate, the following individuals were apprehended: Silivri Mayor Bora Balcıoğlu, Deputy Mayor Fatih Yavuz, CHP Silivri Municipal Council Member Aykut Batur, Private Secretary Aşkın Kaynar, former CHP Silivri District Chair İbrahim Kömür, Silivri Municipality Police Officer Mustafa Demirayak, Private Secretary Aşkın Kaynar's driver Serdar Tuna, construction worker Yalçın Tuna from Özbingöl Plastik ve Alüminyum Doğrama Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi, retired salesperson Pınar Kalaba from Erstream Yayıncılık AŞ, Adem Kalaba from Martı Denizcilik ve Gemi İşletmeciliği AŞ, retired secretary Ayla Can from Spot Denizcilik AŞ, Board Chair Yavuz Dirik from Bektaşoğlu Döviz Ticareti Sınırlı Yetkili Müessese AŞ, partner Nihat Nahit Sarayönü from Saray Deniz Malzemeleri ve Yatçılık Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi, fireplace master Murat Tuna from Kale Şömine İnşaat Taahhüt Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi, company partner Gökhan Tuna from Şah Otomotiv İnşaat Sanayi Ticaret Limited Şirketi, partner Naci Aydın from AYM Danışmanlık İnşaat Taahhüt Ticaret Limited Şirketi, Adem Tuna, and Gökhan Bıçak.
Police teams also conducted a search of the municipal building.