Trustees were appointed to Halk TV, a broadcaster serving as the mouthpiece of the main opposition New Party (YP), on Wednesday, in an investigation into alleged corruption by the channel’s owner, Cafer Mahiroğlu. Mahiroğlu, who lives abroad, is among 17 suspects wanted in the investigation, while police detained 11 among them in several raids.
Police squads surrounded the Halk TV headquarters in Istanbul in the early hours of Wednesday while the TV station broadcast archive footage of old shows instead of live coverage. The opposition was quick to portray the raids and trustee appointment as politically motivated. Authorities, however, say Mahiroğlu was involved in a bribery and corruption scheme involving the municipality of Izmir, which was an opposition stronghold up until recently.
Suspects are accused of bribery, tender rigging and money laundering in the investigation based on statements of eyewitnesses, statements of suspects detained in other operations and other evidence.
Authorities said that the investigation uncovered findings pointing out that Mahiroğlu had connections with the Izmir municipality and set up a vehicle maintenance company which reaped illicit gains from business done with the municipality. They also said the corruption allegations also involved payment of bribes amounting to more than TL 14 million linked to tender processes. According to investigators, Mahiroğlu funnelled cash derived from irregularities in tenders to his own companies and companies linked to him.
Investigators also found contradictions between assets declared to be owned by Mahiroğlu and his actual revenues, raising suspicions regarding money laundering.
Mahiroğlu was already implicated in a tender-rigging investigation linked to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) last year and left the country while he was wanted for tender-rigging.