Prosecutors in Istanbul have filed an unprecedented indictment against former mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — a senior member of the main opposition CHP party and President Erdogan’s top political rival — demanding a cumulative sentence of up to 2,430 years in prison.
According to Turkish and international media, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor Akin Gurlek submitted a 4,000-page indictment naming 402 defendants, led by Imamoglu himself. The document accuses him of running a vast corruption network inside the municipality, engaging in bribery, bid-rigging, fraud, money laundering, and illegal use of government databases, allegedly causing billions of dollars in state losses.
Prosecutors claim the network maintained a secret cash fund and caused damage of 160 billion Turkish lira (about $3.8 billion), with additional losses of $24 million linked to misused transportation budgets allegedly diverted to foreign entities and companies tied to the accused.
The case is based on findings from Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), including recordings, visual evidence, digital analyses, and expert reports. Imamoglu is depicted in the indictment as the “founder and leader” of the criminal organization. Among the co-defendants are his former spokesman Murat Ongun, the head of Istanbul’s municipal sports club Fatih Keleş, and several close advisers and businessmen.