**Ekrem İmamoğlu has remained in pre-trial detention since March 2025 on corruption charges in the sprawling Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality case, where prosecutors allege he led a criminal organization involving bribery, bid-rigging, and related offenses.** The trial, involving 436 defendants, reached its 101st hearing on October 17, 2026, when the court ordered the release of seven co-defendants but explicitly continued İmamoğlu’s detention alongside 46 others, adjourning proceedings to November 2. A separate September 2026 conviction for insulting a public official imposed a two-year-one-month sentence and political ban, now under appeal. With the main case still in its evidentiary and defense phase and no verdict expected imminently, traders assess the likelihood of release before the end of 2026 as low.