Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Erdal Beşikçioğlu, mayor of Etimesgut, a satellite town of the capital, has been arrested. The charge against him is much the same as those leveled at other CHP mayors: 'Forming a criminal organization for the purpose of corruption.'
The four-month-long first session of the Istanbul Municipality trial ended on July 8 without the testimony of its main defendant: Ekrem İmamoğlu, the jailed Istanbul mayor and ousted CHP administration's presidential candidate, who is accused of being the leader of an alleged criminal organization.
The indictment against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief rival, Ekrem İmamoğlu, not only accuses the jailed Istanbul mayor of corruption, but also targets the CHP, laying bare the political nature of the case. The charge sheet alleges that the CHP is being taken over by a criminal organization and on that basis prosecutors also notified the Court of Cassation that there may be grounds to close the main opposition party.
The money laundering investigation into Can Holding has now expanded to the Ciner Group. The probe, which includes charges of fraud, money laundering, smuggling, and forming a criminal organization, now focuses on the $350 million sale of media outlets — including Habertürk, Show TV, and Bloomberg HT — from the Ciner Group to Can Holding. According to Sabah daily, the funds were allegedly transported in suitcases and deposited in banks as cash. Turgay Ciner, once among Turkey’s top taxpayers and currently residing abroad, is now the subject of an arrest warrant.
Authorities seized Habertürk, Show TV and Bloomberg HT, along with 121 other companies tied to Can Holding, after the Küçükçekmece Chief Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for eight people, including owners Mehmet Şakir Can, Kemal Can, and Chairman of the Board Kenan Tekdağ. The suspects face charges of forming a criminal organization, smuggling, fraud, and money laundering.