Turkey's İmamoğlu faces organized‑crime trial over alleged 160 bn lira damages

Turkey’s Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and several other local officials are on trial for allegedly heading a criminal organization. The 50th hearing of the case was held before the Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court, with 414 people named in the indictment and 68 currently detained.

Prosecutors claim the group, formed in 2014, generated public losses worth about 160 billion Turkish lira (roughly 24 million USD) and owned around 95 properties across Istanbul and the country. The indictment lists a wide range of offenses, including organized‑crime formation, data theft, fraud, bribery, environmental violations and money‑laundering. Sentences sought total between 849 and 2,430 years of imprisonment for the defendants.

Among those present at the hearing were İmamoğlu, the mayors of Şişli, Beylikdüzü and Beyoğlu, former CHP MP Aykut Erdoğdu, and senior figures from the municipal administration. The case also names multiple ministries and city agencies as victims of the alleged scheme.