Expert report finds no public loss in İZBETON rental tender case

An expert report submitted to the İzmir 17th Criminal Court has found no evidence of public loss in a case concerning vehicle and work machine rental tenders involving İZBETON, an affiliate of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.

The 73-page report meticulously reviewed six separate tenders and their associated contracts executed between 2022 and 2024. Among the main tenders investigated by oversight experts were a "Work Machine and Vehicle Rental" tender valued at approximately 452 million Turkish Lira by the Climate Change and Zero Waste Department, and a significant service procurement tender worth about 551 million Turkish Lira by the Urban Cleaning Branch Directorate.

According to the report, these tenders, which remained within İZBETON A.Ş., were subsequently transferred to subcontractors like Ege Tem A.Ş. and ÇEVLOG A.Ş. through negotiated procedures or open tenders. However, the panel of experts evaluated the tender processes and found no violations of public procurement legislation at any stage. They stated that the tender announcements, bid evaluations, and contract execution phases were conducted in accordance with regulations.

The report specifically addressed the allegation of "using subcontractors in violation of the contract," clarifying that İZBETON's actions constituted a legal "vehicle rental" transaction, not a subcontractor transfer, and complied with the technical specifications. It emphasized that the rented machinery was operated exclusively by İZBETON personnel, thus not breaching any subcontractor prohibition and causing no public loss. The experts also noted that payments based on motor hours, rather than GPS data, were legally sound due to the nature of cleaning work and potential signal issues. The report concluded that all 56 defendants, including Heval Savaş Kaya and Hüseyin Şimşek, acted lawfully and no public loss was incurred in the tenders under review.