İSKİ General Manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şafak Başa, who was detained during operations targeting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) on March 19, 2025, had been placed under house arrest as part of the judicial process due to bribery allegations.
According to the allegations, Başa had "requested a bribe" regarding a transaction involving Tanpa Madencilik. However, the debate over whether İSKİ had the authority to handle the company's request has been settled by the court's decision.
"İSKİ HAS NO AUTHORITY, THE TRANSACTION IS MERELY A NOTIFICATION"
The Istanbul 12th Administrative Court issued an important ruling in the annulment case filed by Tanpa Madencilik. It was ruled that the administrative act in question was not a definitive and enforceable action, but merely a letter "notifying the result of an application."
According to the report by Cumhuriyet, the court's decision included the following statements:
"For an annulment case to be filed, there must be a definitive and enforceable administrative act that violates the plaintiff's interests. However, this transaction is merely in the nature of confirming the result of an application."
Furthermore, the court clearly stated that İSKİ is not an authority that grants licenses or approvals. This decision is being evaluated as a development that directly undermines the foundation of the bribery accusations directed at Başa.
"THE LEGAL BASIS FOR THE ACCUSATION NO LONGER EXISTS"
Şafak Başa's lawyer, Kerem Donat, evaluated the court's decision as a "reflection of concrete facts." Donat stated the following:
"The accusation was that a bribe was requested for a rejected transaction. However, with this decision, it has been clearly demonstrated that İSKİ had no authority in such a transaction."
Lawyer Donat also emphasized that although Tanpa Madencilik had received a negative opinion for the same transaction in the past without filing any objections, the fact that they filed a complaint after the operations on March 19 indicates that the incident was a fabricated slander.
News Source: 12punto
