Taş Yapı's 'bribery demanded' claim debunked: Municipality's authority and penalty decision are legal
Documents that emerged following the claim by Taş Yapı owner Emrullah Turanlı that "a 100 million dollar bribe was demanded" reveal that the administrative penalties imposed by the municipality are legal and based on court decisions. It has emerged that the fines issued due to deficiencies identified during the Şişli Municipality's zoning inspection were calculated in accordance with legal requirements.
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Emrullah Turanlı, the owner of Taş Yapı, which is carrying out 4 residence projects in Şişli, accused Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Şişli Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan of 'racketeering' during a television program he attended recently. Turanlı claimed that 100 million dollars was demanded from him. However, the documents that have emerged show that, contrary to the allegations, the penalty is based on an official inspection and court process.
Following Turanlı's accusations, Halktv accessed the construction modification reports prepared by the municipality and the court decisions. The documents revealed that the alleged bribe was actually legal administrative fines issued within the framework of the zoning law.
MUNICIPALITY: DEFICIENCIES IDENTIFIED, PENALTIES ARE LEGAL
During an inspection conducted on April 26, 2024, the Şişli Municipality identified serious technical deficiencies in Taş Yapı's project. In the prepared construction modification report, it was determined that the pile diameter and stirrup spacing were constructed in a manner contrary to the project. These deficiencies resulted in an administrative fine exceeding 967 million TL by the municipal council on May 9, 2024.
Turanlı objected to this penalty and filed a lawsuit. The Istanbul 5th Administrative Court stated that the article on which the penalty was based was not found appropriate due to technical details and stayed the execution. However, the court found the justification for the penalty and the authority of the municipality to be legal. The expert report also supported the technical grounds for the penalty and found the municipality's findings to be justified.
CLEAR DETERMINATION FROM THE COURT: AUTHORITY LIES WITH THE MUNICIPALITY
Turanlı's claim that the penalties should have been issued by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change was also rejected by the court. The decision clearly stated that "municipalities are primarily authorized regarding zoning violations."
UNAUTHORIZED USE OF MUNICIPAL AREAS
According to the reports prepared by the municipality, Taş Yapı has been using two separate areas belonging to the municipality without permission since 2019. A total of approximately 580 million TL in occupation fees (ecrimisil) was issued for these areas. It was reported that Turanlı also objected to this penalty and the penalty was reduced after an expert evaluation, but the unauthorized use was still established.
All documents and court records show that there is no legal basis for Turanlı's "100 million dollar bribe" claim. It is seen that the imposed penalty was calculated through official procedures in accordance with the zoning law, and this process was approved by the court and the expert.