'He pressed the button for the operation' claims were widely discussed: Response from Cemil Tugay

As part of an investigation into "tender corruption and irregularities" launched by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, an operation was carried out at the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality in the early morning hours. Among the 120 people detained are former Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer, CHP İzmir Provincial Chair Şenol Aslanoğlu, former high-level bureaucrats, and owners of some companies that do business with the municipality.

TUGAY DENIED THE CLAIMS: "THERE ARE ALSO NAMES FROM OUR TEAM"

Following the detention operation, it was alleged on social media and by some media outlets close to the government that the operation was initiated upon the complaint of the current İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Cemil Tugay.

However, Cemil Tugay categorically denied these claims. Speaking to Gündeme Bakış, one of İzmir's local news portals, Tugay stated that they had not filed any criminal complaints regarding the operation.

"WE ARE FACING AN UNJUST ACCUSATION"

Tugay used the following expressions in his statement:

"Currently, among those detained are our general manager, our deputy secretary general, and our department heads. Each of them is valuable to us. We are facing an unjust accusation."

DENIAL OF THAT CLAIM

Tugay noted the following:

"Our internal audit conducted an examination. We did not file any criminal complaints. We did not file a complaint. We did not file any criminal complaints against Soyer and Aslanoğlu either. Regarding the cooperative issue, the Civil Inspector conducted an examination in recent months and left. In February 2025, the prosecutor's office requested files from us regarding the İZBETON tenders from previous years. We sent them. I want to emphasize in particular that we have no investigation regarding Şenol Aslanoğlu and Tunç Soyer. Many of our colleagues were detained. Our general manager, our deputy secretary general, and two of our department heads are among those detained... These are valuable names for us. They are facing an unjust accusation."

"THE PROCESS WILL BE FOLLOWED METICULOUSLY"

Tugay also made a statement on X regarding the matter and noted the following:

"We have learned with sadness that some managers of our Municipality and its subsidiaries have been detained as part of an investigation initiated ex officio by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, based on the referral report of the Ministry of Interior's Civil Inspection Board and the expert report prepared by experts appointed by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, as reported by the General Directorate of Public Accounts of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.

"The news published in some social media channels claiming that our Municipality is the complainant does not reflect the truth; the source of the investigation is the referral report of the Civil Inspection Board and the expert report prepared by experts appointed by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, as reported by the General Directorate of Public Accounts of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. There is absolutely no examination or application made by our Municipality's Inspection Board regarding individuals such as our former Mayor and our provincial chair. Furthermore, our Municipality does not have the authority to investigate our Party officials, and there is no such application.

The investigation process will be followed meticulously by us. However, the detention of individuals who are on duty and would go to give testimony when invited, from their homes around 05:00 in the morning, is not compatible with ordinary legal methods. The fact that such methods against CHP municipalities have recently turned into an established practice is thought-provoking in terms of the impartiality and outcome of the investigation.

I present this to the information of the public with my respects."