24.12.2013 18:45
Reza Zarrab, an Iranian businessman of Azerbaijani origin who lives in Turkey and who is currently under arrest as part of a major investigation into alleged bribery linked to public tenders and money laundering, financed the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) surveys, the Taraf daily claimed on Tuesday.Over a week has passed since the start of the major graft investigation that dropped onto the Turkish agenda like a bombshell last week. Fifty-two people, including bureaucrats, well-known businesspeople and the sons of three ministers, were detained on Dec. 17. Zarrab, who is accused of being the ringleader in Turkey of a shady money-laundering and gold-smuggling ring established to dodge sanctions against Iran, was one of those detainees. He was later arrested along with 23 other suspects in the graft probe.Releasing some stills from security camera footage on Tuesday, Taraf reported that Zarrab had transferred TL 352,000 to Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan's advisor, Mehmet Sa
Reza Zarrab, an Iranian businessman of Azerbaijani origin who lives in Turkey and who is currently under arrest as part of a major investigation into alleged bribery linked to public tenders and money laundering, financed the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) surveys, the Taraf daily claimed on Tuesday.
Over a week has passed since the start of the major graft investigation that dropped onto the Turkish agenda like a bombshell last week. Fifty-two people, including bureaucrats, well-known businesspeople and the sons of three ministers, were detained on Dec. 17. Zarrab, who is accused of being the ringleader in Turkey of a shady money-laundering and gold-smuggling ring established to dodge sanctions against Iran, was one of those detainees. He was later arrested along with 23 other suspects in the graft probe.
Releasing some stills from security camera footage on Tuesday, Taraf reported that Zarrab had transferred TL 352,000 to Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan's advisor, Mehmet Sarı, on June 28, 2013, to be used to cover the costs of conducting surveys by the AK Party. According to the daily, the transfer took place when Çağlayan was at Çırağan Palace attending a press conference. Zarrab sent a bag full of money to Çırağan Palace via a motorcycle courier. This bribe was clearly visible in stills Taraf published on Tuesday.
Motorcycle courier Halil Ibrahim Akkaya, one of Zarrab's employees, is seen delivering a bag to Sarı in the stills Taraf published. Following the delivery, Sarı allegedly sent a text message to Zarrab in which he thanked Zarrab for the money.
The delivery was planned via text messages between Sarı and Zarrab. On June 27 at 9:10 p.m., Sarı sent the following message: “Üstad [Sir]. It's 352. Greetings and best regards. It's Mehmet Sarı.”
On June 28, Zarrab sent a text message to one of his employees, Abdullah Happani, in which he said: “Abdullah, send TL 352,000 to Çırağan Palace. … The minister's advisor, Mehmet Sarı, is there. Tell the courier to give the money to Sarı. They will conduct a survey for the AK Party with that money.”
On the same day, at 12:05 p.m., Sarı sent a text message to Zarrab in which he stated: “I just wanted to remind you about the issue again. Greetings and regards.” At 12:06 p.m., Zarrab responds to Sarı, saying: “OK, I have already instructed the guys about this.”
On June 28, at 1:56 p.m., Zarrab gave Happani Sarı's phone number to coordinate the delivery.
A telephone conversation that took place on June 27 between Zarrab and Onur Kaya, Çağlayan's personal assistant, also strengthens the claims. Speaking at 11:41 a.m. on June 27, Kaya tells Zarrab: “Dear Reza, are you in Istanbul tomorrow? The minister may want to meet with you tomorrow.”
Zarrab says in response: “I will check my program for tomorrow. I will inform you about the meeting. Is that OK?”
At 3:02 p.m. on June 27, Zarrab sent a text message to Kaya, saying: “Tomorrow is OK.”
The phone records, acquired by Today's Zaman on Dec. 20, also revealed the bribe transfers between Zarrab and Çağlayan. According to the phone records, Çağlayan accepted a valuable watch worth 300,000 Swiss francs (TL 700,000) as a bribe from Zarrab. According to recorded conversations, Çağlayan wanted Zarrab to buy a Patek Philippe 5101G watch that Çağlayan had admired during one of his visits to Geneva. Zarrab allegedly sent one of his employees to Geneva to buy the watch and had it delivered to Çağlayan's personal assistant Kaya at 1:25 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2013.
(Cihan/Today's Zaman)