19.10.2026 17:00
The 1008-page indictment prepared in the Gaziemir Building Cooperative investigation conducted through İZBETON was accepted by the İzmir 11th High Criminal Court. Up to 14 years in prison was sought for former İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer on charges of 'aiding embezzlement' and 'forgery of official documents,' and up to 20 years in prison was sought for 11 defendants, including CHP Ankara Provincial Chair Ümit Erkol. The hearing will be held on December 4.
İZMİR Metropolitan Municipality subsidiary İZBETON irregularities investigation into the Gaziemir Building Cooperative: the indictment prepared within the scope of the investigation was accepted by the court. Eleven suspects, including CHP Ankara Provincial Chair Ümit Erkol and former CHP İzmir Provincial Chair Şenol Aslanoğlu, will be tried for the crimes of 'embezzlement' and 'forgery of official documents' with a request for up to a total of 20 years in prison, while former Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer and former İZBETON General Manager Heval Savaş Kaya will be tried for 'aiding embezzlement' and 'forgery of official documents' with a request for up to 14 years in prison.
In the investigation conducted by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding irregularities carried out through İZBETON, within the scope of the İzmir Gaziemir District Urban Transformation and Development Area projects through İZBETON, by using S. S. Businesspeople Gaziemir Building Cooperative as an intermediary to obtain benefit, a detention order was issued for the suspects as part of an investigation initiated for the crimes of embezzlement, qualified fraud, forgery of official documents and neglect of supervisory duty. The suspects, including CHP Ankara Provincial Chair Ümit Erkol, were taken into custody on April 9. In addition to the suspects who were referred to the courthouse after proceedings at the gendarmerie, 15 suspects were arrested, including former İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer, former CHP İzmir Provincial Chair Şenol Aslanoğlu and former İZBETON General Manager Heval Savaş Kaya, who were already detained in other ongoing investigations, while 2 people were released under judicial control conditions.
A 1008-PAGE INDICTMENT WAS PREPARED
The investigation initiated after the incident was completed and the indictment was prepared. In the 1008-page indictment, it was emphasized that the ownership of the places where urban transformation would be carried out by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality belonged to the municipality, and that the construction works were assigned to İZBETON, a municipal subsidiary, by a council decision for the purpose of carrying them out. It was underlined that although the owner of the building was İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, a protocol was signed between İZBETON and S. S. Businesspeople Gaziemir Housing Building Cooperative, and that this protocol was made by exceeding the authority of representation and with the individual signature of the general manager without a board decision.
It was stated that İzmir Metropolitan Municipality was the 'landowner', İZBETON A.Ş. was in the position of 'contractor' with a 'temporary contracting certificate', and the cooperative, since it was not the landowner and because the transfer of the area where the construction would be carried out could not be made to it, could not obtain a 'contracting' certificate and permit, and such situations caused the cooperative to suffer many financial losses. The indictment also included that the transactions were stopped after the Ministry determined that the cooperative could not act as a subcontractor. It was underlined that the suspects, given their positions and having the status of 'prudent merchant' under the Turkish Commercial Code, were accepted as a presumption, and therefore the conclusion was reached that it did not conform to the ordinary course of life for them not to know these matters and to have carried out all these transactions in good faith. It was also emphasized that the company named Casamar Mühendislik Yapı A.Ş. did not have the competence to carry out the project in question. According to the expert reports obtained, considering the existing construction structure and the amounts paid by the cooperative to the company, it was stated that an excess payment of between 30 and 33 million lira had been made.
A 178 MILLION LIRA DIFFERENCE
It was stated that a contract with a price of 51 million 175 thousand 731 lira including VAT and a duration of 1080 calendar days was made between İzmir Metropolitan Municipality and İZBETON on June 15, 2021, that the site was delivered on July 8, and that a contract with a price of 151 million 175 thousand 731 lira including VAT and a duration of 820 calendar days was signed between İZBETON and the cooperative on February 25, 2022. It was determined that a contract with a price of 329 million 203 thousand 501 lira including VAT and a duration of 780 calendar days was signed between the cooperative and the subcontractor Casamar Mühendislik Yapı A.Ş. It was also emphasized that an advance of 47 million 265 thousand 265 lira was given to the company, and that İZBETON did not carry out any construction work for 255 days after taking delivery of the site. The indictment included that it could not be explained by good faith that the same work was given to the company named Casamar Mühendislik Yapı A.Ş. by protocol 9 months later with 780 calendar days and a difference of 178 million 27 thousand 769 lira, and that this harmed the cooperative.
It was underlined that İZBETON did not carry out any construction work for 9 months, unlawfully signed a contract with the cooperative, and after 9 months the construction of the work was given by the cooperative to the subcontractor company with an excess difference of 178 million 27 thousand 769 lira, and that this situation caused serious damage both for the cooperative and for its members. It was emphasized that the cooperative made payments such as crane rental, vehicle rental, and payment of electricity and water bills, and that this situation was not in accordance with the turnkey construction work in the alleged protocol. It was emphasized that villas not included in the project were later included in the project. The indictment included that the suspects also made payments for these villas.
TWO CHARGES AGAINST SOYER
In the indictment, it was underlined that Tunç Soyer was the mayor of the period and the chairman of the İZBETON board of directors, and that in his statements during his mayoralty that appeared in public, he made statements to the effect that construction works carried out through cooperatives were under the guarantee of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality and that citizens could safely become members of these cooperatives, thereby inspiring confidence in citizens and ensuring they became members of the cooperative. It was stated that the cooperative suffered damage, and when the MASAK reports in the indictment were examined, it was noted that there were high levels of money inflows and outflows compared with other years. It was underlined that, as he also served as chairman of the board of directors of İZBETON A.Ş., he was responsible in the capacity of an aider to the crime of embezzlement for the unlawful transactions and the damage incurred by the cooperative. It was conveyed that Soyer committed the crime of forgery of official documents by carrying out unlawful transactions during the process in which the work was transferred by İZBETON to the cooperative.
HE TRANSFERRED HALF OF THE VILLA TO HIS SON
It was emphasized that during the period when Ümit Erkol served on the suspect's board of directors, according to MASAK reports, an examination of banking transfer records showed high levels of money inflows and outflows compared with previous years. On the other hand, it was determined that 1 of the 11 villas not included in the project was allocated to the suspect, that the suspect transferred half of his share there to his son Fırat Erkol, and that Fırat Erkol in turn transferred half of his own share to İsmail Alkan, also among the suspects. It was included in the indictment that Ümit Erkol committed the crimes of 'Embezzlement' and 'Forgery of official documents'.
It was underlined that Heval Savaş Kaya, the then General Manager of İZBETON, unlawfully transferred the construction work to the cooperative by protocol, that he carried out this transaction unlawfully without a board decision, and that he was therefore responsible in the capacity of an aider to the crime of embezzlement.
It was stated that suspect Şenol Aslanoğlu served as a member of the supervisory board at S. S. Business People Gaziemir Housing Construction Cooperative. It was stated that in the cooperative's 2022 accounts, a difference of 178 thousand 535 liras was found between the balance that should have been and the balance appearing in the commercial books, and in the 2023 accounts, a difference of 14 million 128 thousand 424 liras. The indictment also included that Şenol Aslanoğlu was one of the founding partners and a member of the supervisory board of S. S. İmece Yaka Housing Construction Cooperative, which had monetary flows with the cooperative. It was included in the case file that there were also commercial relations between the cooperative and companies in which Aslanoğlu took part as a partner and/or manager. According to MASAK reports, it was emphasized that Aslanoğlu's bank accounts in 2022-2024 had high-value money inflows and outflows compared with previous years. It was stated that Aslanoğlu was responsible for the loss suffered by the cooperative and committed the crime of 'Embezzlement.' It was also emphasized that he acted contrary to the Cooperatives Law because he carried out commercial transactions with the cooperative.
HEARING ON DECEMBER 4
A prison sentence of up to a total of 20 years was sought for 11 suspects, including Ümit Erkol and Şenol Aslanoğlu, for the crimes of 'Embezzlement' and 'Forgery of official documents'; and up to 14 years for Tunç Soyer and Heval Savaş Kaya for the crimes of 'Aiding embezzlement' and 'Forgery of official documents.' For the other 4 suspects, prison sentences ranging from 6 to 16 years were requested for the crimes of 'Aggravated fraud,' 'Aiding embezzlement,' and 'Neglect of supervisory duty.' The indictment was sent to the heavy penal court. İzmir 11th Heavy Penal Court accepted the indictment. It was learned that the hearing will be held on December 4.
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