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The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office has completed the indictment for a major corruption case in the city's mayor's office. The nearly 4000-page document names 402 suspects, 105 of whom are in custody, RIA reports.
The main defendant in the investigation is Ekrem İmamoğlu, who headed the Istanbul mayor's office since 2019 and was re-elected to the post in 2024. The prosecutor's office is seeking a prison sentence of between 828 and 2352 years for İmamoğlu.
The former mayor is accused of extortion, bribery, abuse of power, creating a criminal organization, and falsifying tender results. The indictment names İmamoğlu as the leader of the criminal organization. The total damage caused to the state is estimated at 3.8 billion USD.
Imamoglu has been in custody since March 23 in a prison in the Istanbul suburb of Silivri. In July, a court sentenced the politician to one year and eight months in prison for threatening Istanbul Prosecutor General Akin Gürlek and his family.
The former mayor categorically denies all criminal charges. The case has been sent to the 40th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, which will begin reviewing the indictment.