While they were in prison, another case was closed

While dawn operations were carried out against opposition municipalities one after another and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his bureaucrats were being held in prison without an indictment for nearly seven months, the prosecutor's office made a striking decision.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) administration has been examining real estate purchases made between 2015 and 2018, when the Metropolitan Municipality was governed by the AKP . It was determined that some properties in the Avcılar, Başakşehir, Büyükçekmece, and Fatih districts were purchased at prices above their fair value.

A criminal complaint was filed against 17 municipal employees and bureaucrats from the AKP era, charging them with "abuse of office" for allegedly causing public harm.

However, the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ruled on September 10, 2025, that there were no grounds for prosecution. With this decision, the file was closed without being turned into a lawsuit.

STATUS OF LIMITATIONS CALLED AGAIN

The reasoning behind this decision was explained as follows:

• “It has been understood that the eight-year statute of limitations for the immovable properties in Avcılar, Başakşehir, Büyükçekmece and Fatih districts, as they were purchased in 2015 and 2016, has expired as of the date of the crime, and therefore, it is no longer possible to conduct an investigation and prosecution against the suspects who were involved in the purchase of the immovable properties in question: Ahmet Erkan G., Ayşe T., Cihad G., Emine K., Fatma A. Ö., Hüseyin S., İsmail Ö., Mustafa İ., Naciye Nursel TB, Sinan Servet Ö. and Yüksel K.

• Within the scope of the preliminary investigation report of the immovable property in Denizabdal Neighborhood, Fatih district, for which the statute of limitations has not expired, it was found that the price determination regarding the date of the incident was made long after the incident and that different prices were found… Therefore, it was understood that no major public damage could have occurred.

• It was concluded that the suspects did not intend to neglect their duties, and that there was no need for public prosecution due to the lack of legal elements in the accusation.