Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, who was once touted as the future vice president of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), will soon face charges for astronomical spending on public concerts as details of an investigation disclose. The details, published by the Sabah newspaper on Monday, show Yavaş was aware of the scandal and approved it.
Experts uncovered a trove of evidence including WhatsApp correspondence between suspects and documents pointing out to irregularities. H.A.B., head of municipality’s subsidiary in charge of culture and social works, was among the suspects detained as part of the probe. The correspondence between H.A.B. and organizers of the events, are among the evidence.
Before any tender decision, official announcement or planning was in place, artist fees and budgets were determined through messaging, records show. The content of the correspondence bolsters allegations that tender processes were shaped before formal procedures began. An expert report noted that each inflated payment was made with Yavaş’ knowledge and approval.
According to findings in the investigation file, 32 concerts organized by the Yavaş administration between 2021 and 2024 resulted in a total public loss of TL 154,453,000 ($3.47 million). Tenders allegedly tailored to specific parties under justifications such as “single source,” “special authorization” and “direct procurement” were recorded as one of the largest organization-related scandals in municipal history. The messages between H.A.B. and organizers suggest that a kind of “exchange” was set up for concerts that had not yet even gone to tender. The expert report states that company owners sending price lists to municipal bureaucrats for projects that had not yet been approved constitutes clear evidence of bid rigging.
One of the major pieces of evidence in the investigation file is a message dated July 7, 2023. In it, H.A.B. tells organizer S.Ç.: “OK, Y. and D. (artists) – I’ll tell the mayor tomorrow at the breakfast event.” The subsequent admission was cited as evidence that the matter was presented directly for Yavaş’s approval.
According to the expert report, Yavaş personally attended the breakfast event on July 8, 2023, one day after the exchange. “This unequivocally demonstrates that Yavaş was aware of every stage of these high-priced concert tenders in the finest detail and that every payment was made with his direct approval,” the report states.
In another exchange dated Sept. 8, 2022, H.A.B. instructs an individual who worked on Yavaş’s election campaign to “lock in the deal.”
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