Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu charged with massive corruption offenses
The chief prosecutor in Istanbul has accused popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of 142 corruption offenses carrying jail terms of up to 2,352 years. Imamoglu, who has been in custody since March, and his opposition party deny all wrongdoing, claiming the multiple indictments are a political crackdown to block his candidacy for the 2028 presidential elections. The network of alleged corruption resulted in a reported loss of $3.8 billion to the Turkish state.
The prosecutor in Turkey’s largest city has accused popular Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of 142 corruption offenses that command staggering jail terms ranging from 828 to 2,352 years.
Imamoglu, who is widely regarded as the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been held in pre-trial custody since March on suspicion of corruption.
The Istanbul mayor and his opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) vehemently deny any wrongdoing. They accuse President Erdogan and his allies of initiating a concerted political crackdown in response to the president's declining popularity.
The city's chief prosecutor, Akin Gürlek, has targeted not only Imamoglu but also 401 other individuals with allegations of operating a criminal corruption network. The indictment names the mayor as the network's "founder and leader."
Following an eight-month inquiry, Prosecutor Gürlek stated that the suspects, 105 of whom are currently detained, formed an enormous criminal organization engaged in taking and receiving bribes, as well as money laundering. He estimated the cost of the losses to the Turkish state at 160 billion lira (£2.9 billion; $3.8 billion).
Imamoglu, the secular CHP's candidate for the 2028 presidential elections, has been cited on 12 counts of bribery, seven counts of money laundering from criminal proceeds, and seven counts of fraud against public institutions. State-run Anadolu news agency estimated the charges could carry a total prison sentence of 2,430 years.
Political Retaliation Allegations
The mayor’s detention in March triggered widespread protests, hundreds of arrests, and a police crackdown. He has been held in Marmara prison on the outskirts of Istanbul ever since.
In addition to the corruption case, prosecutors have accused him of a raft of other offences, including espionage and forging his university diploma, a qualification that has since been annulled. Turkish authorities maintain that the judiciary is acting independently, denying the mayor's claim that the process is being used as a political tool. However, without a university diploma, Imamoglu cannot legally stand for the presidency in 2028.
CHP party leader Özgür Özel wrote on X: "This case is not legal, it is entirely political. Its purpose is to stop the CHP, which came first in the last elections, and to block its presidential candidate." He previously told his party's parliamentary group that Imamoglu's only "crime is to run for the next presidency of this country."
Imamoglu, 54, was first elected mayor in 2019 and re-elected in April 2024, defeating the governing AK Party candidate by nearly a million votes.
He is currently appealing two previous jail sentences: a July term of one year and eight months for insulting and threatening the Istanbul prosecutor, and an earlier sentence for criticizing election officials.
The espionage case, launched two weeks ago, alleges that Imamoglu handed over data of Istanbul residents in exchange for international funding. The mayor has dismissed the charges, warning Turks to "forget this espionage nonsense.
