Nine people including the Chairman of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Murat Yalcintas were arrested by a local court in Ankara Tuesday in connection with a bribery probe carried out by the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office, Anadolu agency reported.
The prosecutor asked the court to arrest a total of eleven people. The court arrested nine people and released two others.
The bribery probe is about an evacuation lawsuit between the World Trade Center Istanbul (WTCI) and an expo company who rented out exhibition halls from the WTCI. ICC which owns 41.47% shares of WTCI, is the biggest shareholder.
Two lawsuits in local courts resulted in favour of the expo company. As the high court was hearing the appeal filed by WTC in 2008, a bribery investigation was launched by the Justice Ministry inspectors upon receiving an informant letter on bribery allegations. After examining the findings of the initial investigation, Ankara Public Prosecutor's office launched a probe into the allegations.