Turkey's ITO Chairman arrested on bribery charges

Nine people, including the Chairman of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) Murat Yalcintas, were held in custody by a local court in Ankara on Tuesday in connection with a bribery probe carried out by the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office, World Bulletin reports.

The bribery probe concerns an eviction lawsuit between the World Trade Center Istanbul (WTCI) and an expo company who rented out exhibition halls from the WTCI. ITO 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 letter containing bribery allegations. After examining the findings of the initial investigation, Ankara Public Prosecutor's office launched a probe into the allegations.