Istanbul’s municipal mayor detained amid bid-rigging probe

The mayor of Beşiktaş, a key opposition stronghold in Istanbul, was arrested on Monday as part of a bid-rigging investigation, according to Istanbul prosecutors.

Rıza Akpolat, the mayor of the municipality on Istanbul’s European side, was detained at his summer residence in Edremit, on Turkey’s west coast, domestic media reported.

Beşiktaş, governed by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), is a major entertainment hub and home to the popular football club of the same name.

“A criminal organisation … organised the tender processes by bribing mayors and senior municipal executives, ensuring that their own companies were awarded the tenders,” the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office stated.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel condemned the arrest as “a new link in the chain of lawlessness in the politicised justice system” and pledged to support Akpolat.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu also criticised the move, calling it an attempt to sway public opinion. 

“The procedure of those who do not have legal intentions cannot be legal,” he stated.

The prosecutor’s office disclosed that a three-month investigation led to arrest warrants for 47 individuals, including Akpolat and Ahmet Özer, the CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district.

Özer has been in custody since October over alleged ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Authorities claim the bid-rigging scheme was orchestrated by Aziz İhsan Aktaş, who, along with 24 other suspects, was detained on charges including forming and running a criminal organisation, bribery, bid manipulation, tax law violations, and money laundering.

Police put barriers around Beşiktaş municipal offices during the search of Akpolat’s office and checked employee identification before granting access.

Elected as mayor in 2019 with nearly 75% of the vote, Akpolat faces charges of criminal organisation membership, bid-rigging, bribery, and illicit property acquisition.

Since the opposition’s significant victories in Turkey’s 2019 local elections — which they successfully defended in last year’s polls — opposition municipal officials have faced frequent arrests and dismissals.

While pro-Kurdish party members have been the primary targets due to alleged PKK links. 

Two co-mayors from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) were remanded in custody on Monday pending trial on terrorism-related charges.

Additional sources • AP