The 70th and 71st hearings in the case against former Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who faces a prison sentence ranging from 828 years and two months to 2,352 years for 142 alleged acts, were held Wednesday, with the court hearing the defenses of several defendants who are not in custody.
The trial concerns 414 defendants, including 53 in pretrial detention, in the case involving the alleged “Imamoğlu profit-driven criminal organization.”
Alleged bribery admissions by defendants drew attention during the hearings. Bayram Yıldırım, the former driver of Ertan Yıldız, head of the IBB Council’s Affiliates and Subsidiaries Commission, told the court about what he described as the inner workings of the alleged network.
“I found many tablets and phones in a box that Ertan Yıldız gave me,” Yıldırım said.
The corruption investigation into Imamoğlu, who was removed from his post as IBB mayor and arrested, was completed with the preparation of a 3,809-page indictment on Nov. 11, 2025.
