24.03.2026 12:36
The ninth hearing in the corruption case involving 407 defendants, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, has begun. While five members of parliament were not allowed into the courtroom, a different prosecutor was present today. When asked about the change of prosecutor, the judge stated, "The prosecutor has a minor health issue. That's why we have another prosecutor today." The hearing continues with the defense of the defendant's lawyer.
The investigation into 'Corruption' against Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from the position of Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and arrested, has been completed, and an indictment of 3,809 pages was prepared on November 11, 2025. In the indictment, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is named as the 'Organization Leader', is accused of committing the crimes of 'Establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime', 'Bribery', 'Money laundering', 'Fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations', 'Recording personal data', 'Obtaining and disseminating personal data', 'Concealing evidence of a crime', 'Obstructing communication', 'Causing damage to public property', 'Receiving bribes', 'Publicly disseminating misleading information', 'Extortion', 'Money laundering of assets derived from crime', 'Interfering with a tender', 'Deliberately polluting the environment', 'Violating tax procedure law', 'Violating forest law', and 'Violating mining law'. İmamoğlu is facing a request for imprisonment ranging from 828 years and 2 months to 2,352 years for 142 actions.
THIRD WEEK OF HEARINGS
The first hearing was held on Monday, March 9. In previous sessions, detained defendants Aykut Erdoğdu, Sırrı Küçük, Ümit Polat, and Bulut Aydöner made their defenses. While no hearing was held on Friday, the third week of hearings, which continued for 4 days of the week, began on Monday, March 23.
5 MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT NOT ALLOWED IN THE COURTROOM
Before moving on to the defenses, one of the defendants' lawyers, Kaptan Yılmaz, informed the court president that the names of 5 members of parliament were given to the gendarmerie to prevent them from entering the courtroom. Lawyer Yılmaz also asked whether the decision was made by the court. The court president stated that the matter was at the discretion of the chief prosecutor.
CHANGE OF PROSECUTOR
According to information reported by journalist Merve Tokaz, a different prosecutor was present at today's hearing. In response to a question about the change of prosecutor, the court president replied, "The prosecutor has a minor health issue. Therefore, we have another prosecutor in his place today."
The hearing continues with the statement of the lawyer of the detained defendant Ali Sukas, the General Manager of the İBB subsidiary company Ağaç AŞ.
WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 22:00
In the hearing to be held in the building located in the Marmara Open Prison Campus in Silivri by the Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court, the defendants' defenses will continue to be taken. On the other hand, the court president stated that the hearings could continue until 22:00.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the indictment prepared by the Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the Presidency of the Mülkiye Inspection Board is included as the "whistleblower", while the Ministries of Treasury and Finance, Interior, Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture and Forestry, as well as the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and Şişli Municipality are included as "victims of the crime".
Additionally, the indictment lists a total of 407 individuals as "defendants", including 16 "complainants", 107 detained, 7 fugitives, and 5 "complainant defendants".
The indictment describes the activities of the criminal organization from its establishment in 2014 to the present, stating that "the total public damage caused by the benefits obtained from the 143 actions subject to the indictment is approximately 160 billion Turkish liras and 24 million US dollars in movable assets, and consists of 95 real estate properties in Istanbul and across the country (excluding the assets obtained from the criminal proceeds of the organization leader and managers)."
The indictment outlines the organization’s structure, indicating that detained defendant Ekrem İmamoğlu is the "organization leader", while detained defendants Murat Ongun, Fatih Keleş, and Adem Soytekin, as well as non-detained defendant Ertan Yıldız, another defendant detained for a different crime, and fugitive defendant Murat Gülibrahimoğlu are also identified as "organization managers". The chart shows that 10 organization members are directly connected to Ekrem İmamoğlu, while 77 members are linked to Fatih Keleş, 35 to Murat Ongun, 8 to Ertan Yıldız, 7 to Hüseyin Gün, 6 to Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, and 6 to Adem Soytekin.
The indictment states that Ekrem İmamoğlu is accused of "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime", "recording personal data", "obtaining and disseminating personal data", "concealing evidence of a crime", "obstructing communication", "causing damage to public property", "bribery", "publicly disseminating misleading information", "extortion", "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations", "money laundering of assets derived from crime", "interfering with a tender", "deliberately polluting the environment", "violating tax procedure law", "violating forest law", and "violating mining law", with a request for imprisonment ranging from 849 years to 2,430 years and 6 months.
The indictment requests that Keleş be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 556 years and 8 months to 1,542 years and 8 months for 48 counts of "bribery", "receiving bribes", "giving bribes", 55 counts of "interfering with a tender", 39 counts of "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations", 8 counts of "money laundering", "violating mining law", "violating forest law", "causing environmental pollution", "violating tax procedure law", "extortion", "destroying, concealing, or altering evidence of a crime", and "obstructing communication".
The indictment seeks that Ongun be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 287 years and 6 months to 779 years and 6 months for "bribery", 53 counts of "interfering with a tender", 33 counts of "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations", "disseminating, publishing, or obtaining personal data", "publicly disseminating misleading information", and "money laundering". It is also stated that Yıldız faces a prison sentence of 86 years to 251 years for "bribery", "interfering with a tender", and "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations".
The indictment requests that Soytekin be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 67 years to 194 years for "bribery", "chain bribery", "extortion", and "money laundering", while Gülibrahimoğlu faces a request for imprisonment ranging from 19 years and 6 months to 51 years for "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations", "money laundering", "forgery", "violating mining law", "violating forest law", "causing environmental pollution", and "violating tax procedure law".
The indictment requests that Gün be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 20 years to 40 years for "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime" and "disseminating, publishing, or obtaining personal data", and it is stated that these defendants, who are in the position of organization managers, should also be punished as perpetrators for all crimes committed within the framework of the activities of the structures affiliated with the organization.
In the indictment, it is requested that the provisions of "effective remorse" be applied to the organization manager defendants Adem Soytekin, Hüseyin Gün, and Ertan Yıldız, who provided information about the structure and activities of the organization after being caught.
Following his arrest, Şişli Mayor Emrah Resul Şahan, who was suspended from his position, is facing a total of 35 to 91 years in prison for 5 counts of "bribery", 2 counts of "embezzlement", "illegal recording of personal data", "illegally providing or obtaining personal data", and "membership in an organization established for the purpose of committing a crime". The indictment also requests that Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, who was suspended from his position after his arrest, be sentenced to a total of 30 to 88 years in prison for 7 counts of "bribery" and "membership in an organization established for the purpose of committing a crime".