A recent report by the Turkish Court of Accounts revealed a shocking case of corruption and mismanagement in a public company that provides car rental services. The report showed that Central Oto Kiralama, a subsidiary of Ziraat Girişim Sermayesi Yatırım Ortaklığı, which is owned by Ziraat Bank, one of the largest state-owned banks in Turkey, bought cars worth 1.9 billion TL (about 215 million USD) from a private company owned by its former chairman, Murat Özkaya, without signing any contract or agreement. This resulted in an unsustainable debt burden for the public company, which also faced legal disputes and customer complaints.
According to the report1, Central Oto Kiralama used loans from public banks to buy cars from Özkaya’s company, Metal Oto, in 2019 and 2020. The report found that the public company paid high amounts of advance payments to Metal Oto, but received cars that did not meet the specifications or quality standards required by the tender. The report also found that some of the cars bought from Metal Oto were sold on the same day to another private company that had close business relations with Metal Oto. The report concluded that this was a clear case of conflict of interest and violation of public procurement laws.
The report also revealed that Central Oto Kiralama sponsored two football teams, Tuzlaspor and Eyüpspor, without informing or consulting its marketing manager, general manager, or board of directors. The sponsorship was done by using the name and logo of the public company on the jerseys of the football teams. The report stated that there was no contract or document related to the sponsorship service, and that the sponsorship was done by the personal initiative of Özkaya, who was also the chairman of Tuzlaspor at the time.
The report recommended that legal action should be taken against Özkaya and other responsible persons for causing financial damage to the public company and violating the public interest. The report also suggested that measures should be taken to improve the governance and accountability of the public company and prevent similar cases of corruption in the future.
This case is a striking example of how public institutions in Turkey are being corrupted and mismanaged by private interests and political connections. It shows how public funds are being wasted and misused for personal gain and benefit. It also shows how public companies are being run without transparency or oversight, and how they are failing to provide quality service to their customers. This case calls for urgent reforms and actions to restore trust and integrity in public institutions and protect the public interest.
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