Tunç Soyer, Aslanoğlu and Kaya, who were detained within the scope of the investigation of "embezzlement" allegations against İzmir Business People Örnekköy Housing Building Cooperative, as well as some undetained defendants, complainants who were victims of the cooperative and party lawyers attended the hearing held by the Izmir 24th High Criminal Court at the Aliağa Penal Institutions Campus.
The presiding judge stated that Izmir Metropolitan Municipality requested to participate in the case as "the victim of the crime". Tunç Soyer, who was later promised, said that he had been detained for nearly 16 months due to charges such as qualified fraud and embezzlement.
Defending that they have refuted all the allegations, Soyer said, "No new evidence has arrived for 15.5 months. My innocence has been proven again and again. I am shown guilty for the speeches I made at the opening ceremonies. An innocent person cannot be subjected to such a heavy victimization. The acquittal decision will show that justice is still possible." he said.
Heval Savaş Kaya stated that there are deficiencies in the file and said, "Such frequent changes of judges create uncertainty for us. It is left to us to prove that we are innocent. We are trying to prove something that does not exist." he said.
Kaya demanded his acquittal, arguing that he had been detained innocently for 16 months. Şenol Aslanoğlu, on the other hand, argued that 4 months had passed since the previous hearing and that he was not guilty of any crime.
The public prosecutor considered the request of the 6th High Criminal Court to merge the files and the request of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality to participate in the case to the discretion of the court and to obtain an expert report. The court decided to abolish some judicial controls and accept the participation request of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and postponed the hearing.
INVESTIGATION AND JUDICIAL PROCESS
On July 1, 2025, the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the allegation of corruption by subcontracted companies in İZBETON AŞ, a subsidiary of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, and in this context, a detention order was issued for 157 suspects on charges of "rigging the tender and the performance of the act" and "qualified fraud", based on the Court of Accounts report, civil inspector report and expert reports.
22 of the suspects were working at İZBETON AŞ, 2 of them were working for Business People Örnekköy Housing Building Cooperative, 3 of them were working for Business World Housing Building Cooperative, 2 of them were working for Business People Gaziemir Housing Building Cooperative, 3 of them were working for Business World Yeni Yaşam Housing Building Cooperative, 3 of them were working for Egeli Business People Housing Building Cooperative. The other 122 suspects were municipal personnel, construction, construction, electricity, marble, etc. It was stated that they were the owners and employees of companies operating in areas such as separation.
139 suspects, including former Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer and former CHP Izmir Provincial Chairman Şenol Aslanoğlu, were caught.
Among the suspects referred to the criminal judgeship of peace, 60, including Soyer and Aslanoğlu, were arrested, and 58 suspects were released on condition of judicial control. 20 of the suspects were released from the police and one from the prosecutor's office.
The third case was prepared against 65 suspects, including Soyer and Aslanoğlu, for the crimes of "qualified fraud by using public institutions and organizations, public professional organizations, political parties, foundations or association legal entities as tools", "qualified fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations", "qualified fraud within the scope of the cooperative activities of cooperative managers during the commercial activities of persons who are traders or company managers or acting on behalf of the company" and attempting these crimes, alleging corruption in "cooperative" affairs. The indictment requested prison sentences from 3 to 45 years, and the indictment was accepted by the Izmir 23rd High Criminal Court.
During the trials, 11 defendants, including former Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer, former CHP Izmir Provincial Chairman Şenol Aslanoğlu and former İZBETON AŞ General Manager Heval Savaş Kaya, were released, and there were no detained defendants in the file.
