Trustees were appointed to Halk TV, a broadcaster serving as the mouthpiece of the main opposition New Party (YP), on Wednesday, in an investigation into alleged corruption by the channel’s owner, Cafer Mahiroğlu. Mahiroğlu, who lives abroad, is among 17 suspects wanted in the investigation, while police detained 11 among them in several raids.
Police squads surrounded the Halk TV headquarters in Istanbul in the early hours of Wednesday while the TV station broadcast archive footage of old shows instead of live coverage. The opposition was quick to portray the raids and trustee appointment as politically motivated. Authorities, however, say Mahiroğlu was involved in a bribery and corruption scheme involving the municipality of Izmir, which was an opposition stronghold up until recently.
Suspects are accused of bribery, tender rigging and money laundering in the investigation based on statements of eyewitnesses, statements of suspects detained in other operations and other evidence.
Authorities said that the investigation uncovered findings pointing out that Mahiroğlu had connections with the Izmir municipality and set up a vehicle maintenance company which reaped illicit gains from business done with the municipality. They also said the corruption allegations also involved payment of bribes amounting to more than TL 14 million linked to tender processes. According to investigators, Mahiroğlu funneled cash derived from irregularities in tenders to his own companies and companies linked to him.
Investigators also found contradictions between assets declared to be owned by Mahiroğlu and his actual revenues, raising suspicions regarding money laundering.
Mahiroğlu was already implicated in a tender-rigging investigation linked to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) last year and left the country while he was wanted for tender-rigging.
In a social media post attempting to discredit the police raid, in a matter that also implicates him, Mahiroğlu said from the U.K., "Kılıçdaroğlu and his crew must be happy now," referring to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, chair of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
Kılıçdaroğlu has been targeted by the YP after a court verdict reinstated him to the leadership of the opposition party.
Halk TV has quickly adopted the rhetoric of Özgür Özel, founder of YP, who was ousted as CHP chair in May, with coverage accusing Kılıçdaroğlu of betraying Türkiye's oldest party. Previously an outlet for the CHP, Halk TV sided with Özel after his expulsion and became a mouthpiece for the YP after its foundation in July.
Three days before the police raids, Kılıçdaroğlu accused Halk TV of "airing lies around the clock" in an interview with KRT TV station. He questioned why the channel's owner was abroad and said they filed a complaint with the broadcast watchdog over the "fake news" Halk TV disseminated about his administration at the CHP. Mahiroğlu, in response, has branded Kılıçdaroğlu as the "most unfortunate thing to happen to Turkish politics."
