Turkish police have launched a large-scale operation to try to locate Erhan Karaal, deputy director-general of Kültür A.Ş. – a company responsible for organising cultural activities linked to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality – who was abducted yesterday by several unidentified individuals outside his home in the Maltepe district, on the city’s Asian side. Karaal’s wife has recounted the details of the incident, whilst two people have already been arrested in connection with the case, from which footage of the moment the abduction took place has emerged.
According to the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, Erhan Karaal, whose name also features in the investigation into corruption linked to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, left his home at around 9.00 pm on 17 June and made his way to his car; once there, he waited by the car for his family, with whom he was planning to go out for a visit.
At that moment, three people got out of a vehicle parked nearby, struck Karaal on the head and forced him into their car. The kidnapping was witnessed by one of his daughters and a neighbour. Subsequently, his wife went to a police station to file a complaint regarding the incident; initial investigations revealed that the perpetrators used a vehicle of the same model and colour as another found on the same street, albeit with a cloned number plate.
Footage of the moment of the abduction has come to light
So far, two people have been arrested in connection with the abduction of this senior official from the metropolitan municipality of Turkey’s largest city. Furthermore, numerous media outlets have broadcast footage of the incident captured by CCTV cameras; the footage shows the vehicle stopping in front of Karaal’s house and then speeding away after he was forced into the car.
The abduction has also been confirmed by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Anatolia (the Asian side of Istanbul), which stated in a press release that “following information received regarding the abduction of Erhan KARAAL, deputy general manager of Kültür A.Ş. of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, by unidentified individuals in the Maltepe district of our city on 17 June 2026, the necessary instructions were given to the security forces to locate the victim and apprehend the suspects, and the investigation is continuing thoroughly”.
Erhan Karaal’s wife says that they have no known enemies
Speaking to a private television channel, Karaal’s wife explained that “at around 9.00 pm we were on our way to the beach. We were on our way to the car and two people struck my husband on the head and threw him into a vehicle. Erhan shouted: ‘Police, police!’. There were between four and five people inside the car. One of my daughters was with my husband and my other daughter saw the incident from the window. We called the police immediately.”
“We have provided the registration number and model of the stolen car they used. An identical vehicle was found, but it had not been moved for three days; this means that the same model and registration number were used in the incident, but the abduction was carried out using a different vehicle,” said the woman, who also assured that they have “no known adversaries or enemies”, nor any disputes over money or outstanding debts, and that they do not suspect any particular person.
“My two daughters and I haven’t slept since yesterday; we’re at the police station, waiting. We can’t believe something like this has happened. I have no problems with any of my neighbours,” the woman insisted. According to her account, the last signal emitted by her husband’s mobile phone was traced to the Kartal district of Istanbul, some 10 km south of the place where he was abducted.
The name of the abducted victim appears in the indictment brought by the public prosecutor’s office against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, specifically in his capacity as head of financial affairs at the municipal company Kültür A.Ş. The Turkish public prosecutor’s office officially accuses him of having committed fraud by taking advantage of his position in public institutions. Erhan Karaal is currently on trial, not in custody, as part of the large-scale corruption investigation launched last year against the metropolitan municipality, in which the former mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, and several other senior municipal officials are implicated, amongst others.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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