Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s testimony begins: Turkish media

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu‘s testimony began on the third day of his detention at Vatan Police Headquarters in Istanbul’s Fatih district.

According to opposition Sozcu TV, Imamoglu was summoned for questioning in the 56th hour of his detention.

The mayor was taken into custody on the morning of March 19 as part of two separate investigations launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on charges of “corruption” and “terror-related offenses.”

Secret recording

Separately, according to information revealed today, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has included an audio recording in its ongoing corruption investigation into the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB).

The recording allegedly reveals the unlawful acquisition of Istanbul residents’ data and features a conversation between Murat Ongun, senior advisor to Mayor Imamoglu, and Serdal Taskin, former general manager of IBB’s Culture Inc.

The investigation targets Imamoglu and 99 other suspects on charges including leading a criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement, tender rigging, and unlawful acquisition of personal data.

Leaked recordings and allegations

The leaked recording suggests that Ongun used his company, Reklam Istanbul, to obtain the personal data of Istanbul residents through a data management platform (DMP).

In the conversation, Taskin reportedly warns Ongun about the risks of accessing such data: “You could make three, four, maybe five or six times more money through the DMP, but this would create a massive problem. It would expose that we have access to data on the entire city. This is a huge issue for us.”

Ongun allegedly responds: “Knowing Istanbul’s data might not generate direct financial profit for me. I may not use it or share it, but I could still utilize it internally. Not for financial gain, but in another way—it’s still an investment. I don’t see the DMP as just a tool for selling products; I wanted it for both reasons.”

Taskin then expresses concern over regulatory scrutiny, citing a past case where a bank faced potential fines of ₺50 million to ₺60 million due to similar data privacy violations.

Tender fraud allegations

Prosecutors claim that Reklam Istanbul secured over 70 illegal tenders from IMM Medya A.S. between 2022 and 2024. Additionally, fugitive suspect Emrah Bagdatli is accused of unlawfully obtaining and using residents’ personal data within IBB.

The investigation is ongoing as authorities examine further evidence of corruption, bribery, and data privacy violations within the municipality.