An Istanbul court has ordered the arrest of Sarp Yalcinkaya, head of local fuel retailer Teco Petrolculuk, at the request of the chief public prosecutor’s office, according to government-run news service Anadolu Agency.

Yalcinkaya was detained on May 23 as part of a fourth detention wave carried out as part of the ongoing and widening crackdown targeting Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the jailed chief political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Since the March arrest of Imamoglu, the Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office has been aggressively and very publicly pursuing its "investigation" against the so-called Imamoglu Crime Syndicate, described by Erdogan as an "octopus" with many tentacles.

Critics of Erdogan's regime observe that if the consequences of this clearly political operation to remove the ballot box threat posed by Imamoglu were not so serious, the absurdity of the bogus investigation would make it hard to not fall about laughing. 

Flew abroad in 2020

Each time a politician or other individual is arrested in the operation against the "syndicate", the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office circulates reasons for the arrest via government media. Long-time observers of the modus operandi of the regime, however, say they are quite sure that no individual in the case would be pursued without the say-so of the strongman president.

According to government media, Yalcinkaya on November 29, 2020, flew abroad on a private jet with Murat Gulibrahimoglu, a fugitive suspect involved in conducting excavation works for Istanbul Municipality.

The duo returned to Turkey on December 1, 2020. The suggestion is that the trip proves Yalcinkaya’s criminal association with Gulibrahimoglu.

Transferred company to father

Yalcinkaya transferred his position as board chairman of Teco Petrolculuk to his father Mustafa Mete Yalcinkaya at a company general assembly meeting held on May 12, according to government media. The approval of the transfer was published in the Trade Registry Gazette on May 26.

According to regime media outlets, Yalcinkaya was informed that he would be detained and so moved to hand the post of chairman to his father.

Petrol station network

Izmir-based Teco (Turkish Energy Company) Petrolculuk, launched in 1997 by the Yalcinkaya family, operates 371 petrol stations. They are mainly located in Turkey’s Aegean region.

The company has the 11th largest petrol station network in Turkey. By sales, it was also the 11th largest fuel retailer, with a 0.9% market share in 2023.

So far, no action has been taken against Teco.

Five detention waves

So far, five detention waves in the Imamoglu operation have been executed since March 19.

In the fourth detention wave, which was executed on May 23, 46 people were taken into custody. Subsequently, 25 of them were arrested under a court ruling issued on May 27.

The wave included the targeting of businessmen along with officials at Istanbul Municipality companies, namely Istac (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Waste Management Company) and Kiptas (a real estate developer), along with officials from city government departments, namely Yol Bakim Daire Baskanligi (road maintenance department) and Rayli Sistemler Daire Baskanligi (metros and tramways department).

Detained mayors removed from posts

On June 5, the interior ministry removed the five mayors detained in the fifth detention wave from their posts.

Currently, 12 main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayors are in jail.

To date, only three CHP municipalities (Esenyurt, Ovacik and Sisli) have been seized by the government. City district parliaments in Istanbul and Besiktas have elected new mayors who are CHP members.

The remaining seven CHP municipalities remain in limbo.

The Imamoglu operation has also involved the regular seizing of companies.