The 2025 Court of Accounts Audit Report prepared regarding the Mardin Metropolitan Municipality, which is under trustee administration, documented numerous violations, including the municipality’s distribution of funds to 34,500 people under the guise of social assistance and the indiscriminate transfer of 445 million Turkish Liras (TL) to four districts.
The 2025 Audit Report prepared by the Court of Accounts regarding the Mardin Metropolitan Municipality, which is under trustee administration, has been published.
While the 2025 report identified 24 findings of non-compliance, it noted that 17 of the 18 findings of non-compliance from the 2024 report had still not been “resolved,” and one had been “partially resolved.” The 68-page report highlighted numerous instances where the municipality’s resources were improperly transferred to municipalities run by the AK Party and where tenders were conducted in violation of the law.
445 million TL in “aid” to AKP-run municipalities
According to the report, the Mardin Metropolitan Municipality, under trustee administration, provided a total of 317 million TL in cash aid to the AKP-affiliated municipalities of Midyat (180 million TL), Savur (62 million TL), Yeşilli (40 million TL), and Ömerli (35 million TL). Noting that the districts’ investment programs were not requested for these aid payments, the Court of Accounts added that, under a protocol, an additional 113.9 million TL for road construction and 13.7 million TL for heavy equipment rental expenses were also covered for the same districts. The total amount transferred to the municipalities in this manner amounted to 444.7 million TL.
The Court of Auditors noted in its report that the same situation could recur, highlighting the risk of duplication since the investment programs of the relevant district municipalities were not obtained.
No records for 34,500 food boxes
Of the 41,000 food boxes received in 2025, 34,500 were distributed through foundations affiliated with district governor’s offices and district municipalities without any application process or social assokessment. The report, which stated that there were no municipal files, scoring records, or archival records for these individuals, included the following statements:
“Of the 41,000 food packages received in 2025, approximately 800 were in storage, 40,200 were distributed; of the distributed food packages, only 5,700 were distributed by the Metropolitan Municipality, while the remaining 34,500 were transferred to social solidarity foundations affiliated with district governor’s offices and district municipalities. The administration did not conduct any applications, social assessments, evaluations, or criteria-based scoring regarding the 34,500 individuals who received social assistance. There are no files or archival records pertaining to these individuals within the administration.”
According to the Court of Accounts, in 2024, the municipality itself identified only 4,400 out of 75,000 people.
Procurement procedures were not followed
It was noted that the municipality failed to comply with the tender procedures specified in the Public Procurement Law, dividing the tenders into parts and conducting them via direct procurement to remain below the monetary threshold.
A total of 14,981,373 TL was spent on 18 transactions carried out between January 17, 2025, and November 28, 2025, through the directorates of Social Services, Transportation, and Support Services.
Additionally, the report noted that a cash donation to the Mardin 1969 Sports Club was also made in violation of procedures, stating that 18 million 700 million TL was provided under the guise of “purchasing uniforms.”
Payments to waste disposal facilities were not made
Twenty percent of the environmental cleanup tax must be transferred to the municipality for use in waste disposal facilities. According to the report, MARSU and five district municipalities failed to deposit these shares. The amount owed rose from 5.43 million TL at the end of 2024 to 10.68 million TL in 2025.
Eighty-eight percent of the debt—9.41 million TL—is owed to MARSU, the metropolitan municipality’s own subsidiary. According to the data, Kızıltepe owes 566,535 TL, Artuklu 353,727 TL, Dargeçit 169,631 TL, Nusaybin 165,648 TL, and Yeşilli 11,573 TL. The metropolitan municipality reported that it has collected the amount owed by MARSU through setoff and stated that it will collect the amounts owed by the other municipalities.
The Court of Accounts noted that if these shares are not paid, disruptions could occur in the operation of waste facilities and waste management, and public health could be adversely affected.