Ex-minister confesses to ‘unlawful practices’ in wiretapped conversation
▻http://todayszaman.com/news-340353-ex-minister-confesses-to-unlawful-practices-in-wiretapped-c
A conversation that was published in a Turkish newspaper between former Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar and the head of the İstanbul Public Housing Corporation (KİPTAŞ), İsmet Yıldırım, has revealed that the ex-minister, along with other officials, was engaged in a number of unlawful practices, including the re-zoning of plots of land in İstanbul.
A transcript of the leaked conversation was published by the Karşı daily on Monday. In it, Yıldırım allegedly tells Bayraktar to change the zoning status of a plot of land in İstanbul’s Çatalca neighborhood to that of an earthquake-prone zone and then hand it over to KİPTAŞ. In response, according to the transcript, Bayraktar resists, saying that such a move would be illegal and that it would have “dire consequences.” KİPTAŞ was reportedly planning to build a police academy on the land.
In the conversation between Bayraktar and Yıldırım, which allegedly took place on July 24, 2013, the former minister admits to having engaged in unlawful practices in relation to land in İstanbul’s Etiler neighborhood. “I have already done this for Etiler," he allegedly said. “How can I do the same for Çatalca? They will hang us [if they learn about it].”