Erdoğan Aware Of Chain Of Corrupt Dealings, Prosecutor Kara Says

Public prosecutor Celal Kara, who previously oversaw the massive corruption investigation that went public on Dec. 17, 2013, shed light on his earlier claims that then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was at the center of the graft probe, saying, "Seven phone conversations between the graft suspects confirm that Erdoğan was aware of the whole chain of graft."

In a series of interviews with veteran journalist Can Dündar published by the Cumhuriyet daily over the course of the week, Kara stressed that then-Prime Minister and current President Erdoğan worked behind the scenes and knowingly approved of a chain of corrupt dealings between several ministers and Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, who was a prime suspect in the investigation.

In the extract published on Friday, Kara emphasized seven separate phone conversations among the graft suspects in which Erdoğan is mentioned, clearly showing that he was aware of the graft network involving key members of the government.

The prosecutor specified seven legally wiretapped phone conversations, saying: “In one of the audio recordings, Zarrab and [former Economy Minister Zafer] Çağlayan are heard speaking of 'doing something kind for his highness [Erdoğan].' But Çağlayan suggests that Zarrab 'do something kind for his inner circle.' Zarrab sent $500,000 to TÜRGEV [the Foundation of Youth and Education in Turkey, on whose executive board Erdoğan's son Bilal Erdoğan sits as a member]. The public is suspicious of the term 'highness' bestowed on Erdoğan. The content of the conversation confirms such suspicions.” Çağlayan allegedly accepted a luxury watch worth TL 700,000 from Zarrab as a bribe.

"In another conversation wiretapped in 2013 between Zarrab and Süleyman Aslan, former CEO of state-run Halkbank, Aslan discusses his difficulties transferring money through Halkbank, as it might lead to legal problems. Zarrab mentions his target of $4 billion in exports, saying he will do his utmost to make sure he reaches this target," Kara noted.

Kara went on to say, "Similarly, in a wiretapped phone conversation between Zarrab and [former EU Affairs Minister] Egemen Bağış in 2013, it is understood that Erdoğan is aware that Zarrab's father and several other relatives were given Turkish citizenship in an unusually short period of time. Under normal circumstances, Turkish citizenship can be acquired only after an applicant has lived in Turkey for at least five years."

After specifying a number of instances showing Erdoğan's direct or indirect involvement in the corrupt dealings, Kara said: "Although the legal wiretappings are clear and Zarrab was photographed with the ministers during official programs despite not having any official title, Erdoğan defended Zarrab, saying he is a philanthropist, and MİT [the National Intelligence Organization] sent a notice to Erdoğan warning him that the revelation of the relations between Zarrab and several ministers may hurt the government. How can one claim that Erdoğan is out of this [graft] network?"

When asked whether these connections exist in the 504-page summary of proceedings prepared by the police and 309-page report about the four former ministers, Kara responded: "Why do you think those proceedings were not unveiled to the press? Had the ministers been referred to the Constitutional Court for trial, the situation of the then-prime minister [in terms of his involvement in legal processes as the graft suspect] would have been clarified."

The corruption scandal implicated dozens of politicians, businessmen, Erdoğan's inner circle and Erdoğan himself. Zarrab was revealed to have distributed millions of dollars in bribes to three former ministers that Parliament recently failed to send to the Constitutional Court for trial.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)