In the 1008-page indictment prepared by the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, details of the investigation regarding the irregularities carried out through İZBETON AŞ, a subsidiary of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, were included.
In the indictment, it is stated that the ownership of the places where urban transformation will be carried out by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality belongs to the municipality, that the construction works were given to the municipality subsidiary İZBETON AŞ by the council decision, and although the owner of the building is Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, S.S. It was stated that a protocol was signed between Business People and Gaziemir Housing Building Cooperative in 2022, and that this protocol was made with the signature of the general manager, without the decision of the board of directors, exceeding the authority of representation.
In the indictment, which states that an extra payment of 30 to 33 million liras was made compared to the amounts paid by the cooperative with the current construction structure, it is stated that a 1080 calendar day contract worth 51 million lira was signed between Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and İZBETON AŞ and the site was delivered in 2021, and an 820 calendar day contract worth 151 million lira was signed between İZBETON AŞ and the cooperative in 2022. was given.
It was stated that villas were later included in the project and some people made payments for this project, and that former Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer was also the chairman of the board of directors of İZBETON AŞ, and in his public statements during his mayoralty, he stated that the construction operations carried out through cooperatives were under the guarantee of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality.
It was claimed that Soyer was responsible for illegal transactions and damages because he served as the chairman of the board of directors of İZBETON AŞ, and that he committed the crime of forgery of official documents by committing unlawful acts during the process of aiding the crime of embezzlement and transferring the business to the cooperative.
TUNÇ SOYER REJECTED THE ACCUSES
Tunç Soyer did not accept the accusations in his statement in the indictment. Arguing that the Metropolitan Municipality and İZBETON did not receive any money regarding the Gaziemir Cooperative, Soyer said, "The municipality or İZBETON are not responsible for the internal functioning of the cooperative."
Stating that urban transformation works started in the previous period, Soyer said, "I have no interest or connection with any cooperative or its managers. I did not establish these cooperatives. These cooperatives are not cooperatives of the municipality. If there is, the loss of the cooperative, this damage is not a public loss."
REQUEST FOR PRISON FROM 4.5 YEARS TO 20 YEARS
In the indictment, a prison sentence of 4.5 to 14 years was requested for the detained former Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer for the crimes of "aiding the crime of embezzlement" and "forgery of official documents", and a prison sentence of 8 to 20 years was requested for the former CHP Ankara Provincial Chairman Ümit Erkol and CHP İzmir Provincial Chairman Şenol Aslanoğlu and 10 suspects for the crimes of "embezzlement" and "forgery of official documents".
Prison sentences ranging from 6 to 16 years were requested for the other 4 suspects for "qualified fraud", "aiding embezzlement" and "neglect of audit duty".
The indictment was submitted to the high criminal court.
INVESTIGATION AND OPERATION
In the investigation by the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the crimes of "embezzlement", "qualified fraud", "forgery of official documents" and "neglect of audit duty" for obtaining benefits through Limited Liability Business People Gaziemir Construction Cooperative within the framework of "Urban Transformation and Development Area Projects" in Gaziemir district through İZBETON AŞ, İZBETON was based on the complaint petition of the new board of directors of the cooperative, victim statements and expert reports on the dates of the crime. A detention order was issued for 10 suspects, who were identified as AŞ officials, cooperative board members and audit committee members.
In the operation carried out by the gendarmerie teams on April 9, 9 suspects, including former CHP Ankara Provincial Chairman Ümit Erkol, were caught, and it was determined that 1 suspect was abroad. The suspects were arrested by the judgeship in Izmir on April 12.
As the investigation expanded, the number of suspects increased to 17 and 15 of them were arrested.
