Six more suspects were taken into custody in the Milas Municipality investigation, bringing the total to 35

Six more suspects were taken into custody as part of the Muğla Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation into the Milas Municipality. The number of those in custody has risen to 35. Proceedings are ongoing for the suspects, who include Milas Mayor Fevzi Topuz and his son, D.T.

Scope of the Investigation

As part of the investigation, six more suspects were taken into custody following the initial 29 suspects charged with “bribery,” “bid-rigging,” “aggravated fraud,” and “forgery of official documents.” As part of this effort, simultaneous operations were carried out yesterday in Muğla, Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Elazığ, Hakkari, Istanbul, Gaziantep, Kilis, Kocaeli, Manisa, Van, and Ordu.

It was reported that the investigation was launched based on allegations that tender documents submitted by companies were forged and that work experience certificates were prepared using these documents.

Statement from the Chief Prosecutor’s Office

In a statement issued by the Muğla Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was announced that an investigation had been launched against 35 suspects in 13 provinces on charges of forming or joining an organization for the purpose of committing a crime, bribery, bid-rigging, and forgery of official documents. The statement noted that the Milas Municipality issued 35 work experience certificates—which were fraudulent in content—to 34 companies, and that the total tender value listed on the documents as having been completed, even though it had not, amounted to 2 billion 579 million 555 thousand 355 lira.

It was noted that the companies that received the experience certificates participated in 25 public tenders, that one company won one of these tenders, and that the total value of these tenders was 3 billion 714 million 262 thousand 711 lira 18 kuruş. The statement also noted that some of the companies that applied shared the same account numbers, tax identification numbers, and IBAN numbers for their bank accounts, and that the individuals listed as employees of these companies were the same people; that these fictitious companies were established in this manner and transferred to third parties after their market value was inflated; and that it was determined that some companies had secured a total capital increase of 342 million 880 thousand lira, either directly or indirectly, using these documents.

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