Politics
Turkish govt reinstates CHP mayor arrested on corruption charges
Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of the southeastern province of Adıyaman, who was detained last month on corruption charges, was reinstated to his post, the Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday.
Tutdere was suspended from office on July 10 after he was ordered into house arrest following a corruption investigation.
The same investigation has led to detentions of Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek and Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar. All three men are from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which is entangled with a series of corruption probes. The CHP’s Istanbul mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was arrested in March on graft charges.
The CHP is under mounting scrutiny as a wave of corruption, bribery and terrorism-related investigations sweeps across its municipalities.
Since late 2024, more than 500 people, including some 15 sitting mayors, have been detained in police operations. Over 200 have been formally arrested, while dozens benefited from the legal provision of “effective remorse” in exchange for cooperation with prosecutors.
Authorities say more than 10 major investigations are underway into municipalities controlled by the main opposition CHP, covering allegations from large-scale tender rigging and bribery to financing terrorist organizations.
The most extensive probe targets the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB). Prosecutors allege a network, headed by senior municipal officials, that rigged numerous public contracts. Imamoğlu and his aides deny all charges.
Linked to these allegations is the case of businessperson Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, accused of heading a criminal network that allegedly bribed mayors and senior officials to secure lucrative tenders. Aktaş, initially arrested, was later released after cooperating with authorities under “adequate remorse” provisions.
Two separate investigations in Istanbul focus on alleged links between CHP district municipalities and the PKK terrorist organization. Police operations earlier this year targeted nine CHP-run districts, leading to the arrests of deputy mayors and council members. Prosecutors claim certain local initiatives were used to bolster PKK influence in major cities.
In another high-profile case, dismissed Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer faces trial on charges of PKK membership, while former Sarıyer Mayor Şükrü Genç is accused of financing the DHKP-C terrorist group through municipal channels.
The corruption allegations extend far beyond Türkiye’s largest city, though several of the most prominent cases are centered in Istanbul.
In Istanbul’s European districts, Beşiktaş and Büyükçekmece, officials are accused of bribery, irregular contracting and abuse of office. In the Anatolian districts of Beykoz and Şile, the mayors were arrested on charges of tender rigging, extortion and involvement in organized crime, while Kartal’s mayor and several municipal officials allegedly rented out public properties in violation of the law.
In western Izmir province, the CHP municipality is facing two separate probes: one targeting irregularities in construction projects and another focusing on corruption in a municipal subsidiary, which has already led to the arrest of former Mayor Tunç Soyer.
Sarp Yalçınkaya, a businessman with close ties to municipal bureaucrats and individuals doing business with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), disclosed a corruption ring allegedly run by the city’s former mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu. Yalçınkaya, who invoked a remorse law in exchange for collaborating with authorities, told investigators that the ring collected bribes in a “fund” and Imamoğlu received half of the cash in the fund.
Yalçınkaya stated that the cash collected in the fund was transferred to London aboard private jets and delivered to addresses provided by Imamoğlu, according to a report by the Sabah newspaper.
Imamoğlu and dozens of other suspects, including bureaucrats of IBB and businesspeople, were detained last March in a major graft probe. More operations followed and Yalçınkaya was arrested in the fourth wave of operations against the corruption network at the municipality. Following his arrest, Yalçınkaya said in his initial testimony that Imamoğlu created the fund to take over the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) first and then, for a presidential campaign. The CHP recently nominated Imamoğlu as its future presidential candidate as it pressed on for an early election. Yalçınkaya has claimed that he heard Imamoğlu saying they needed $2 billion (TL 81.34 billion) for the fund.
In his second statement to the investigators, Yalçınkaya explained how people doing business with IBB accumulated wealth thanks to the corruption ring. One of them is Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, a fugitive suspect in the case. Yalçınkaya said Gülibrahimoğlu was a bankrupt businessman when he first met him in 2018, and he became increasingly wealthy after Imamoğlu won his first term as Istanbul mayor in 2019. He said Gülibrahimoğlu was awarded all tenders for excavation works in the city by Imamoğlu and had close ties to Tuncay Yılmaz, manager of Imamoğlu’s construction company and Fatih Keleş, a top IBB bureaucrat. “They often met to discuss bribes they would receive from contractors in exchange for building permits and other permits issued by the municipality. At times, they would extort money by threatening businesspeople by scrapping their permits, though these people complied with all municipal regulations,” he said.
Yalçınkaya said Gülibrahimoğlu was at the heart of the corruption ring, and he rushed to transfer all the cash collected by the ring abroad when the suspects found out a corruption investigation was imminent. “Gülibrahimoğlu also traveled abroad with his private jet in 2022 with Tuncay Yılmaz and Hüseyin Köksal (who was awarded the advertising tender of IBB), and when I asked him the purpose of their visit, he told me that they were carrying cash. He made more trips abroad between 2022 and 2025 and often with IBB officials,” he said.
He said Gülibrahimoğlu told him that all the cash accumulated from bribes and tenders was taken abroad, usually to London. “He told me that half of the cash was transferred to a fund set up for a future presidential campaign, and the other half was allocated to Imamoğlu himself. He also told me that people organizing the transfers were paid 20% of the accumulated cash in exchange for their work.”
“Gülibrahimoğlu told me about a cryptocurrency company they founded and how they transferred cash abroad through cold wallets. He explained that money was being transferred overseas through currency exchange offices with commissions of nearly 1%. Some of the bribes and kickbacks from zoning and licensing were given to these currency exchange offices and then collected back from foreign exchange offices abroad. Additionally, a portion of the funds from permits and zoning fees was transferred abroad via cryptocurrency companies using cold wallets. I heard these details from conversations between Gülibrahimoğlu and Fatih Keleş. Gülibrahimoğlu is well aware of which currency exchange offices collected the money and through which cryptocurrency companies the transfers were made,” he said.
Yalçınkaya told investigators that cash transfers aboard private jets were disguised as gift packages. “Gülibrahimoğlu said each flight carried at least $10 million. I witnessed suitcases full of cash being loaded onto the jet. Bribe money collected from contractors and people fraudulently awarded permits in Istanbul was disguised as earnings from excavation and dumping work, laundered and packaged as gift parcels, and delivered to the addresses Imamoğlu provided abroad. Some of the money is also held in stock markets, cryptocurrency markets and currency exchange offices,” he said. “Some studio apartments across Istanbul are being used as cash storage locations. Murat knows their locations. To avoid the traceability of bribe-tied properties, title deeds are sometimes registered under the names of drivers, relatives, or close associates.”
“A portion of the collected bribes is used to fund the party and municipal expenses. Political rallies are sponsored with collected funds. Maintenance of (CHP’s) main building and district offices, hospitality expenses are all paid from this fund. Social media sponsorships, undisclosed payments to TV channels, numerous media companies and internet portals were also funded through this source. Part of these bribes was used to finance the construction of the CHP building in Istanbul,” Yalçınkaya said.
He added that the primary goal of the fund was to secure control of the CHP and referred to allegations of vote buying during the election of the party’s current chair, Özgür Özel, in November 2023. A separate lawsuit is underway about that election, and testimonies from several former CHP delegates claim that Imamoğlu and people close to Özel offered cash and other benefits to delegates in exchange for their votes to oust Özel’s predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Yalçınkaya said Imamoğlu and his associates knew that they would need money to buy more votes if the election was to be annulled due to the lawsuit and sought to collect more bribes. “Fatih Keleş was worried when the investigation was launched into (Özel’s election). He told me that they were under too much pressure and had to pay more ‘to support media and columnists’ on their payroll.”
An earlier report by the Sabah newspaper says that Rıza Akpolat, a former mayor of Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district for the CHP who was arrested on corruption charges in January, funded journalists supportive of the CHP. A municipality staff member handed over to prosecutors a list of journalists and others who had been paid a budget of TL 56 million, which Akpolat had accumulated through bribes. The list of journalists allegedly funded by Akpolat includes prominent journalists with direct and indirect links to the CHP, such as Nevşin Mengü, Altan Sancar, Ali Haydar Fırat and Ismail Küçükkaya, as well as pro-CHP TV stations Halk TV and Tele 1. Similar allegations of journalists funded by CHP-run municipalities emerged earlier. Witnesses in the case against Imamoğlu have previously told investigators that Imamoğlu’s close associate, Murat Ongun, personally paid cash to some journalists in secret meetings at parking lots, in exchange for pro-Imamoğlu propaganda. The party’s former chairperson, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in the past, implied that some journalists were funded by Imamoğlu, fueling a debate among journalists who accused each other on social media of receiving payments from municipalities.
Doubling down on the terrorist group’s separatist ambitions, YPG leader Ferhat Abdi Şahin has renewed his calls for a decentralized Syria and the removal of “Arab” from the country’s official name.
In an interview with the Istanbul-based Yeni Yaşam newspaper, Şahin argued that the “Syrian Arab Republic” title, in use since 1961, “does not reflect the reality” of the multiethnic nation and should have the word “Arab” removed.
“Syria does not belong only to Arabs. Such radical changes must be made in Syria,” he said.
“(Syria) cannot be centralized and totalitarian like it was during the Baath regime. It must be a decentralized Syria. All provinces in Syria must be able to govern themselves through local governments,” Şahin claimed.
Just last week, Şahin told local media the YPG “defends the slogan ‘one army, one government, one state,’” echoing Damascus’ calls for full national unity.
The shift in tone comes as the group continues to negotiate with Syria’s interim government over the implementation of a March 10 agreement recognizing Damascus’ sovereignty.
Under the deal, signed by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the YPG pledged to recognize Damascus’ sovereignty and transfer airports, oil fields and border crossings under its control to the central government by the end of the year.
However, the agreement stops short of outlining how the YPG’s armed wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), will be integrated into Syria’s army, a key sticking point. Damascus insists fighters join individually, while the YPG demands entry as a bloc, an issue that threatens to stall the process.
The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, which has waged a decadeslong terror campaign in Türkiye and is designated a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Türkiye.
With U.S. support under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the YPG seized large swaths of northern and eastern Syria during the civil war. Turkish cross-border operations have since reduced its territorial grip, but it still holds key oil, water and agricultural resources in the northeast.
Washington has recently acknowledged the group’s ties to the PKK, with Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Ankara and special representative for Syria, claiming the U.S. has no obligation to support “the formation of an independent state by the so-called SDF.”
Last month, Barrack also dismissed federalism as a workable model in Syria.
“The problem is that in all these countries (Iraq and Syria), federalism does not work and that a state within a state cannot be established,” Barrack said.
The U.S. envoy has urged Damascus to maintain “one homeland, one nation, one army, one government,” accusing the YPG of being reluctant to fully commit to national unity.
Şahin, however, claimed that a decentralized structure is essential for stability.
“(Barrack) understands that Syria cannot be governed by one person … I hope he has concluded that a decentralized Syria is necessary,” Şahin said.
The YPG’s push for decentralization and symbolic changes, such as altering the country’s name, is widely seen by Türkiye as part of a broader effort to entrench separatist control in Syria’s north.
Ankara has long opposed the YPG’s presence along its border, warning it will “intervene” if the group does not comply with the March 10 deal and disarm as the PKK did.
As part of the landmark terror-free Türkiye initiative, the PKK announced in May it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of violence.
Türkiye’s newly formed National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission, led by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, adopted its working procedures and principles Tuesday in its first session at the Turkish Parliament.
During the opening session, representatives of political parties with and without parliamentary groups shared views on the commission’s significance and the process ahead.
The commission unanimously approved its working procedures and principles in the first meeting, adopting the official name National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission.
Its next meeting will take place Aug. 8 at 2 p.m. in the Turkish Parliament’s Ceremony Hall, with Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalın invited to brief the body on their institutions’ work and current developments.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar reiterated on Tuesday the need for a two-state solution to the Cyprus question, arguing that the Greek Cypriot side has shown “no intention” of achieving a solution.
Tatar reiterated his stance as he received Colin Stewart, the U.N. secretary-general’s Cyprus envoy and head of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force, for a farewell visit as Stewart is stepping down on Saturday.
After the meeting, Tatar thanked Stewart for his service, saying that he had always maintained an open and transparent stance.
In his statement, Tatar referred to the U.N. Security Council’s inclination toward a “two-zone, two-community” federation on the island, saying that no solution had been found in the negotiations held so far and that the Greek Cypriot side has shown no intention of reaching a solution.
“We insist on a two-state solution on Cyprus. The TRNC is a sovereign state in every sense of the word. The decision taken by the U.N. Security Council on Cyprus is outdated and has lost its validity. The region has changed, the status has changed, the Eastern Mediterranean has changed and Türkiye has reached a completely different point,” said Tatar.
Stewart’s farewell
Stewart, whose term as special representative began in 2021 and will end on Saturday, thanked Tatar for having good, productive meetings over the years.
“I know that he deeply cares about Turkish Cypriots and looks after their interests, and he always tried to be constructive about this,” he said.
The island has been split between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.
Greek Cypriots control the southern part of the island and are recognized by the international community as a state, despite protests from Turkish Cypriots and Türkiye. The TRNC is located in the northern part of the island and is recognized only by Türkiye.
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the U.K.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a U.N. plan to end the longstanding dispute.
More recently, informal U.N.-led meetings have continued, including one in Geneva in March at the request of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. That meeting focused on practical cooperation in areas such as crossing points, demining and environmental protection. While progress was made on some issues, others stalled due to the stance of the Greek Cypriot side.
To help advance the process, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, the U.N. secretary-general’s personal envoy on Cyprus, was reappointed in May and has since conducted multiple visits and consultations with leaders and officials on the island, Türkiye, Greece, the U.K. and the EU. Despite her efforts, core political disagreements remain unresolved.
As Africa rises in strategic potential with its young population and rich resources on the international stage, Türkiye continues to deepen its relations with the continent by the day.
The economic development moves, regional integration projects and incentives toward foreign investors of African countries increase the continent’s global influence. Africa, which harbors around 18% of the world population, draws the interest of many countries not only in terms of human resources but also with its growing consumer market.
Africa has approximately 40% of the world’s gold reserves, 60% of cobalt and a significant portion of oil and natural gas reserves. Interest from especially China, the U.S., the EU, India and Gulf countries is growing.
Türkiye, meanwhile, has been investing in its ties with the continent through infrastructure investments, development projects, military cooperation, as well as education programs among other fields.
As part of its foreign policy toward the continent, Türkiye increased the number of its embassies in Africa from 12 in 2002 to 44 by 2024.
African countries also increased their embassies in Türkiye, and the number of African embassies in Ankara rose from 10 in 2008 to 38 in 2024.
Ankara’s increasing diplomatic representations on the continent have led to stronger ties, especially in political, economic and cultural areas. The number of mutual visits in the past five years has exceeded 500.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made 53 visits to 31 African countries, making him the leader who has visited the continent most often.
As a sign of its growing influence, Ankara has since taken on the role of mediator in talks between Ethiopia and Somalia, which have been locked in a feud over access to the ocean since June.
The number of agreements Türkiye has signed with African countries has also grown significantly.
Trade ties
Ankara has entered into trade and economic cooperation agreements with 49 African nations, signed agreements on the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments with 32 countries, double taxation avoidance agreements with 17 nations, military framework agreements with 35 countries, military training cooperation agreements with 21 nations and defense industry cooperation agreements with 29 countries.
Furthermore, business councils have been formed with 49 African countries, covering nearly the entire continent.
Türkiye’s trade with Africa grew nearly nine times, from $4.3 billion in 2002 to $36.6 billion by 2024. Its investments in Africa rose from $67 million in 2003 to $10 billion in 2024.
Furthermore, Turkish contractors completed 2,031 projects in Africa, worth $97 billion, by the end of 2024.
Türkiye’s official export finance institution, Türk Eximbank, became the AFC’s first non-African investor in December 2023, upon the invitation of the African Finance Corporation (AFC).
Moreover, Turkish Airlines (THY) has made significant strides in connecting Africa to the world, currently serving 62 destinations in 41 countries across the continent. It notably became the first airline to resume operations in Mogadishu in 2012 after the airport was rebuilt with Turkish assistance.
Other Turkish institutions are similarly active in Africa. As of the end of 2024, approximately 62,000 African students were pursuing higher education in Türkiye through the Türkiye Scholarships program.
Additionally, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has 22 active representatives in Africa.
Meanwhile, the Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) Turkish Cultural Center offers Turkish lessons to Africans and promotes Turkish culture at 18 centers across 15 African countries.
The Turkish Maarif Foundation also educates around 25,000 students at more than 230 institutions in 27 African countries.
Defense cooperation
Türkiye has also extended its successful defense industry collaborations to African countries. Leading Turkish companies such as Baykar, Aselsan, Tusaş and Nurol Holding have seen rising demand for their products on the continent. These defense partnerships and related initiatives continue to strengthen bilateral trade.
According to data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Türkiye’s total exports to African nations rose by 1.7% in 2024, reaching $19.4 billion. Egypt was Türkiye’s top African export destination last year at $3.5 billion, followed by Morocco with $3.1 billion and Libya with $2.5 billion.
Türkiye has also expanded defense cooperation with several African countries, including Libya, Somalia, Niger, Chad and Sudan. Under a 2019 memorandum of understanding on military and security cooperation, Türkiye continues to provide military training and consultancy services in Libya.
The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) central executive committee is set to convene Wednesday to discuss the terror-free Türkiye initiative.
AK Party members will review the work of the parliamentary terror-free Türkiye committee, which held its inaugural meeting Tuesday at Parliament. An informational report on the committee’s efforts will be presented.
The 51-member committee, comprised of legislators from most major parties, is charged with proposing and supervising legal and political reforms following the PKK terrorist group’s decision to disband and lay down arms, ending a four-decade-long terror campaign that claimed over 40,000 lives.
The AK Party’s upcoming Türkiye Meetings program, set to launch this weekend, is also expected to be on the agenda.
In addition, the Health Ministry will deliver a presentation, following up on proposals made by the party’s Health Policies Department during the executive committee meeting two weeks ago.
The situation in Gaza will also be discussed, particularly in light of Israel’s ongoing attacks and embargoes. Erdoğan, who has recently stepped up diplomatic activity on the issue, is expected to deliver messages on Gaza during the meeting.
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