Overview
- Dilek Kalayci, former Berlin Health Senator, was convicted of bribery for accepting unpaid wedding planning services in 2019 in exchange for awarding a €267,830 government contract to a marketing agency.
- The court sentenced Kalayci to a suspended prison term of 1.5 years and ordered the confiscation of €6,242 as illicit gains.
- The marketing agency's owner was also convicted of bribery and received a similar suspended sentence, with €9,450 confiscated as profits from the scheme.
- Both Kalayci and the agency owner deny wrongdoing, with the defense arguing that no quid pro quo arrangement existed and announcing plans to appeal the verdict.
- The court emphasized that Kalayci's actions undermined public trust in government institutions, citing significant damage to Berlin's administration.