07.04.2026 08:00
It was reported that operations were carried out at 30 addresses in Istanbul and Yalova regarding actions that constitute bribery offenses related to irregularities in building permits and occupancy permits at Üsküdar Municipality. During the operation, 20 suspects were detained. It was learned that among those detained was not Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş, and that entry and exit to the municipal building were closed.
As part of the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, an operation was carried out on the allegation of irregularities in the building permit and occupancy processes at Üsküdar Municipality. In simultaneous operations carried out in Istanbul and Yalova, 20 suspects were detained.
SİNEM DEDETAŞ IS NOT IN CUSTODY
It was learned that Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş was not among those detained, and access to the municipality building was temporarily closed.
HERE IS THE LIST OF THOSE DETAINED
- FİLİZ DEVECİ - DEPUTY MAYOR
- NAZIM AKKOYUNLU - GENERAL MANAGER OF KENT A. Ş.
- BARKIN EGE TEKKÖKOĞLU - ARCHITECT OF KENT A. Ş.
- ÖZGÜR CEYLAN - ARCHITECT OF KENT A. Ş.
- HAKAN YAVUZ - FIELD CHIEF OF BUILDING CONTROL
- AHMET İŞMAN - PROJECT FOLLOWER
- VEYSEL KÖSE - PROJECT FOLLOWER
- CEYHAN HAN - PROJECT FOLLOWER
- BURÇİN ÇEVİK - PROJECT FOLLOWER
- YASİN KARABAŞ - PROJECT FOLLOWER
- ENGİN ARAZ - CONTRACTOR
- SİNAN SARIOĞLU - CONTRACTOR
- KADİR KARADAĞ - CONTRACTOR
- UFUK GÜNDÜZ - CONTRACTOR
- EYÜP MERİÇ - CONTRACTOR
- MURAT ARMAĞAN - CONTRACTOR
- HAKAN MANSIZ - CONTRACTOR
- ERDEM ALKAN - CONTRACTOR
- YILMAZ KOZAN - CONTRACTOR
- MEHMET ATİLLA GÜNERİ - CONTRACTOR
THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE ANNOUNCED THE DETAILS OF THE OPERATION
The statement from the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the matter is as follows:
"As part of the investigation conducted under the coordination of the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Special Investigation Bureau, as a result of the work carried out by the Financial Crimes Unit of the Istanbul Provincial Police Department;
It was determined that a room was allocated between the Department of Urban Planning and the Building Control Department, which are the units that issued the building permit and occupancy permit to the General Manager of Kent A. Ş. (N. A.), which is a municipal subsidiary located within the Üsküdar Municipality building, and that the individual used the title of 'deputy mayor' in the room name, and that the General Manager of Kent A. Ş. (N. A.) was presented and introduced as the deputy mayor in many official organizations and programs, as confirmed by data reflected in open sources. It was found that illegal income was obtained from contractors in the building permit process by using the municipal subsidiary Kent A. Ş. as a front, despite not providing a service in reality.
Although the responsible municipal unit for the building permit is the Department of Urban Planning, it was found that discussions regarding the issuance of building permits took place between contractors and Kent A. Ş., which is a subsidiary of Üsküdar Municipality, and that despite not having the authority, Kent A. Ş. personnel supervised the officials of the Department of Urban Planning during the building permit issuance process. It was also determined that an Excel table was created with color coding based on parcel basis using a cryptographic-closed circuit communication network to learn the instructions of the Department of Urban Planning regarding which applications would be advanced and which applications would be suspended in building permit applications, and that the relevant row in the email content was colored according to the color coding method by the Department of Urban Planning of Üsküdar Municipality, which is the authorized unit to issue the building permit, and that the processes were advanced or not based on the color coding.
PROCESSES HAVE BEEN ADVANCED ACCORDING TO COLOR CODES
In the Excel list within the email content, which is a cryptographic and closed circuit communication network between Kent A. Ş. and the Üsküdar Municipality Department of Urban Planning, each row containing parcel numbers was colored blue, red, green, and orange, and according to the coded communication network, the rows containing parcel numbers were;
- If colored ''blue'', it meant that an agreement was reached and the work needed to be carried out; if colored ''red'', it meant that an agreement could not be reached and the processes should not be carried out;
- If colored ''green'', it meant that the meeting had not yet taken place and the processes should not be carried out;
- If colored ''orange'', it meant that a meeting was held with the relevant person but the work had not been formalized, and it indicated that the processes would be advanced in case a new instruction was given. Based on the aforementioned issues, the building permit was issued based on the coloring made according to whether the requested amount was deposited or not, rather than according to the architectural project.
Although the responsible unit for issuing the occupancy permit (building usage permit) is the Üsküdar Municipality Building Control Department, it was decided in meetings chaired by the General Manager of Kent A. Ş. (N. A.) how the interests would be requested from contractors for the occupancy permit, and the Deputy Mayor of Üsküdar (F. D.), who approves the occupancy permit, also attended these meetings.
Engineers working at Üsküdar Municipality conducted inspections of the constructions for which the occupancy permit process was operated, and as a result of these inspections, they identified violations of regulations. The digital data regarding these findings (including building visuals) were presented in meetings for evaluation by the director and technical team responsible at the building control department to (N. A.), and this evaluation was carried out by holding a meeting in the room allocated to (N. A.) within the Üsküdar Municipality building, with the participation of the Deputy Mayor of Üsküdar (F. D.).
THEY DECIDED HOW MUCH BENEFIT WOULD BE REQUESTED FROM CONTRACTORS IN MEETINGS
In the meetings held by the officials at the Building Control Department, it was decided how much benefit would be requested from contractors in exchange for the occupancy permit, based on the nature of the violations of each construction and the value of the construction site in square meters. It was also determined in this meeting how the contractor's benefit would be provided, and in accordance with the decision of (N. A.) and (F. D.), the relevant contractor was invited to the building control department, and a request for benefit was made from him or his project follower in accordance with the decision taken in the meeting regarding the occupancy permit. As part of the investigation conducted regarding the allegations of bribery related to the irregularities in the issuance of building permits and occupancy permits at Üsküdar Municipality, simultaneous searches, seizures, and detention operations were carried out on April 7, 2026, at a total of 30 addresses in 2 provinces, Istanbul (19) and Yalova (1), and a total of 20 suspects were captured and detained, and a large number of digital materials were seized.
Our Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office will continue to conduct investigations meticulously and decisively in order to combat crimes against the reliability and functioning of Public Administration, as in all types of crimes.
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