07.04.2026 10:31
In the investigation conducted regarding the allegation of bribery through irregularities in the construction and occupancy permit processes at Üsküdar Municipality, 20 suspects, including Deputy Mayor Filiz Deveci, were detained. During the searches carried out at the identified addresses in the operation, 4 million 500 thousand lira in cash, a cold wallet, and numerous digital materials were also seized.
Within the scope of the investigation conducted under the coordination of the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office Special Investigation Bureau, as a result of the efforts made by the Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Investigation Branch, it was determined that an office was allocated between the departments of Urban Planning and Zoning and Building Control, which are the units that issued the building permit and occupancy permit, to N. A, the General Manager of Kent AŞ, a municipal subsidiary, within the Üsküdar Municipality building, and that N. A used the title "deputy mayor" in the office nameplate.
"THEY OBTAINED ILLEGAL INCOME FROM CONTRACTORS" It was found that the suspect N. A was presented as "deputy mayor" in numerous official organizations and programs, and that illegal income was obtained from contractors during the building permit process by using Kent AŞ, a municipal subsidiary that has no duties and authorities, as a front for a service that was not actually provided, and that the responsible municipal unit for the building permit was the Urban Planning and Zoning Department, yet discussions regarding the issuance of building permits were held between contractors and Kent AŞ.
Despite not having the authority, the Kent AŞ officials monitored the officials of the Urban Planning and Zoning Department during the building permit issuance process, and 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 regarding which applications would be advanced and which applications would be suspended, and it was learned that the processes were advanced or not based on the color coding of the relevant row in the email content for the contractor who applied to the responsible unit, the Department.
PROCESSES WERE ADVANCED ACCORDING TO COLOR CODES In the email content of the cryptographic and closed circuit communication network between Kent AŞ and the Urban Planning and Zoning Department, it was determined that there were parcel numbers, and each row was color-coded in blue, red, green, and orange, and according to the coded communication network, it was found that in the files where parcel numbers were located, "blue" indicated that an agreement was reached and work needed to be carried out, "red" indicated that an agreement was not reached and processes should not be carried out, "green" indicated that the meeting had not yet occurred and processes should not be carried out, and "orange" indicated that a meeting was held with the relevant party but the work was not formalized, and in case of a new instruction, it meant that the processes would be advanced.
Within the scope of the investigation, it was determined that the building permit was issued based on the color coding made according to whether the requested amount was deposited or not, and although the responsible unit for issuing the occupancy permit was the Building Control Department of the municipality, decisions on what benefits would be requested from contractors for the occupancy permit were made in meetings chaired by N. A, the General Manager of Kent AŞ, and it was found that the Deputy Mayor Filiz Deveci, who approved the occupancy permit, also attended these meetings.
It was learned that engineers working in the municipality conducted inspections of the constructions for which the occupancy permit process was operated, and that they identified violations of regulations as a result of these inspections, and that digital data regarding these findings were presented to N. A in meetings for evaluation by the director and technical team responsible in the building control department, and this evaluation was carried out by holding a meeting in the office allocated to N. A within the municipality building, and it was also found that Deputy Mayor Deveci attended this meeting.
THEY DECIDED HOW MUCH BENEFIT TO REQUEST FROM CONTRACTORS IN MEETINGS In the meetings held by the officials in 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 location of the construction in square meters, and it was also determined in this meeting how the contractor's benefit would be provided, and it was found that the relevant contractor was invited to the building control department and requested benefits from him or his business follower in accordance with the decision taken in the meeting regarding the occupancy permit, in line with the decision of suspects N. A. and Deveci.
As part of the investigation into the aforementioned allegations, a simultaneous operation was conducted at 30 addresses in Istanbul and Yalova regarding actions that would constitute bribery related to the irregularities in the issuance of building and occupancy permits at Üsküdar Municipality, and 20 suspects, including N. A, the General Manager of Kent AŞ, and Filiz Deveci, the Deputy Mayor of Üsküdar, were detained.
4 MILLION 500 THOUSAND LIRA SEIZED IN A SUITCASE Many digital materials were also seized during the operation. During the searches conducted at the identified addresses in the operation, 4 million 500 thousand lira in cash was found in a suitcase, along with a cold wallet and many digital materials.
HERE IS THE LIST OF THOSE DETAINED FILIZ DEVECI - 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 - BUSINESS FOLLOWER VEYSEL KÖSE - BUSINESS FOLLOWER CEYHAN HAN - BUSINESS FOLLOWER BURÇİN ÇEVİK - BUSINESS FOLLOWER YASİN KARABAŞ - BUSINESS 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 STATEMENT FROM ÜSKÜDAR MUNICIPALITY After the operation, Üsküdar Municipality published a statement titled "To the Press and the Public." The statement included the following expressions:
"The allegations regarding the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office are being closely monitored by us.
The Üsküdar Municipality carries out all its activities in accordance with the applicable legislation, in line with the principles of transparency, accountability, and public interest. All administrative processes, including zoning and licensing procedures, are conducted in an open manner within the legal authority and responsibilities of the relevant units.
Allegations that illicit gains have been obtained through our municipal subsidiary Kentaş, that unauthorized individuals have intervened in decision-making processes, and that public officials have acted accordingly do not reflect the truth. No unit or subsidiary of the Üsküdar Municipality can or has engaged in any unlawful activity.
We firmly believe that all aspects of the truth will emerge in the ongoing legal process. Our municipality continues to act in cooperation with the judicial authorities, as always, and contributes to the transparent conduct of the process.
In order to provide accurate information to the public, we would like to emphasize that evaluations aimed at damaging our institution's reputation based on unverified allegations should be avoided. "