Turkiye and the United States have never faced such strained relations. Key issues include conflicting interests in the Middle East, Turkiye’s purchase of S-400 missiles from Russia, and efforts to use its relationship with Russia to send messages to the U.S. Ongoing investigations into Turkish businesspeople and politicians in America also contribute to tensions. Furthermore, cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence agencies has not met expectations due to trust issues. The latest crisis revolves around the indictment of New York Mayor Eric Adams by the Southern District Court of New York. The Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi – AKP), which has governed Turkiye since 2002, has sought to influence Adams through strategic corruption, further straining the already fragile relationship between the two countries.
Strategic corruption is the deliberate use of corrupt practices to achieve specific political, economic, or social objectives. This often involves influential individuals or organizations manipulating systems, policies, or resources to gain advantages or maintain control. Recently, this concept has evolved into a national strategy. Countries like China and Russia have transformed their internal corruption into tools for global influence, and Turkiye has started to adopt similar tactics.
Recent developments in Mayor Eric Adams’s indictment reveal an organized group of Turkish individuals from the Consulate, Turkish media, Turkish Airlines, and the business sector collaborating to exert influence in New York. This situation raises important questions about how these individuals coordinated their efforts to engage with Mayor Adams. Understanding that the current crisis cannot be fully grasped without considering Turkiye’s changing political dynamics and governmental priorities is crucial. Therefore, this article first examines Turkiye’s evolving political landscape and analyzes why these influencers collaborate to impact Mayor Adams.
Turkiye’s connection to democratic values and the Western world has influenced its efforts to combat corruption. The country has typically sought to reduce corruption when its political system aligns more closely with democratic principles. However, its fragile democracy was weakened by military coups in 1960, 1971, and 1980, which hindered the establishment of a stable democratic framework. Corruption has played a significant role in governmental changes. The Welfare Party, a precursor to the AKP, won the 1994 municipal elections by accusing the ruling party of widespread corruption and nominated President Erdogan as its candidate for mayor of Istanbul. By leveraging Islamic principles, the AKP and its political Islamist predecessors convinced the public that their model could effectively address corruption. Ironically, they have become linked to some of the highest levels of corruption in Turkish history.
The AKP came to power in 2002 and has remained in government since then. In its early years, the party aligned itself with European Union standards, seeking constitutional protections to avoid the fate of its predecessors, which were shut down for violating secularism. During its first decade, the AKP experienced positive governance indicators. However, after winning two re-elections, the government began adopting more authoritarian practices. The Gezi protests in 2013 exposed the AKP’s intolerance for dissent. Although the AKP and its political Islamist predecessors campaigned on anti-corruption platforms, they consistently failed to deliver on their promises, often using religion and values to obscure their corrupt activities. The December 17-25 corruption scandals in 2013 marked a critical turning point, accelerating Turkiye’s shift from a fragile democracy to authoritarianism.
The December 17 investigation uncovered how Iran circumvented sanctions by opening escrow accounts in Turkish state banks in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes to cabinet ministers. In 2008, during a money laundering probe linked to drug trafficking, authorities identified Reza Zarrab, an Iranian money launderer running a currency exchange in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. This discovery unveiled his role in significant laundering operations, including transferring cash to Russian banks and evading U.S. sanctions on Iran through gold-for-oil transactions. Although Zarrab was arrested following the December 17 police raids, he was released two months later despite substantial evidence against him. Zarrab remained at large for almost two years until the FBI apprehended him upon entering the U.S. in March 2016. The U.S. prosecutors not only relied on the evidence collected by Turkish investigators but also broadened their investigation. They uncovered how the money laundered by Zarrab was used to support Iran’s nuclear proliferation and to finance Iran-backed militia groups, including Hezbollah, in Iraq and Syria. Zarrab pled guilty and testified about the corrupt activities, but Erdogan sought to interfere with the U.S. investigation to facilitate his release. His wife, Emine Erdogan also reached out to Jill Biden in 2016 for assistance, yet Erdogan’s attempts to influence the investigation persisted, as highlighted by John Bolton regarding the Halk Bank case two years later.
The December 25 investigation revealed evidence in several key areas: Bosphorus 360, reportedly co-owned by Erdogan’s son, was implicated in a bribed sale of a valuable state property linked to Yasin al-Qadi, an individual connected to al Qaeda. The company was also involved in securing coal mine licenses through corrupt practices. Additionally, businessmen were pressured to finance the acquisition of Sabah-ATV Media Group, which benefited from government contracts. An associate of Erdogan secured an illegal construction license in Izmir in exchange for bribes. Finally, TURGEV, a nonprofit organization run by Erdogan’s son, accepted bribes disguised as donations.
The AKP government learned a harsh lesson during the December 17-25 investigations. Rather than allowing the inquiry to proceed, they shut it down and imprisoned the investigators, along with their families. They then purged nearly all police operational units, accusing them of being part of a terrorist organization. However, these purges did not produce the desired results. As a result, the government exploited the suspicious July 15 coup attempt in 2016 to consolidate its power and establish absolute control in Turkiye, ultimately purging over 40,000 police officers and around 5,000 judges and prosecutors.
Current Climate and the AKP’s Priorities
The December 17 and 25 scandals marked a significant turning point for the country. Investigators’ harsh punishment and imprisonment sent a solid message for newly appointed law enforcement: they should avoid probing government-related corruption. The new officers were selected from AKP loyalists, which created a reluctance to pursue corruption investigations. Additionally, the AKP government fostered a culture of opportunism, where individuals showed loyalty to the government in exchange for participating in corrupt practices. This shift is reflected in Turkiye’s Corruption Perception Index, which dropped from 52nd place among corrupt countries in 2012 to 115th in 2023. Estimates suggest that one-third of government contracts are now tainted by corruption.
The period following the 2013 corruption scandals has brought a significant shift in government politics. The AKP’s primary goal is to ensure that its wrongdoings do not lead to imprisonment. The party and its supporters focus on two main priorities: securing government contracts for profit and cultivating a network of opportunists who understand that loyalty to the AKP will yield more contracts. Those who back government initiatives are often rewarded with bribes tied to these contracts.
The AKP also has interests in various regions around the world. Officials, businesspeople, and journalists working in these areas know how to gain favor with the AKP. For instance, it is to provide networks with African governments that can facilitate military equipment sales or secure government contracts. It is also to present President Erdoğan as a leader in the Islamic world, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East.
The priority for the AKP government in the United States is to regain legitimacy that has been lost over the past decade due to ongoing non-democratic actions and violations of the rule of law and human rights. More importantly, it is a priority to serve the interests of the AKP government by establishing networks to connect with influential Americans who can impact the Halk Bank investigation, which the AKP has repeatedly tried to interfere with. Consequently, building solid connections in New York and Washington, D.C., has become essential. To this end, Turkiye has invested significantly in lobbying efforts in both states to engage influential individuals.
Eric Adams’s Indictment
The indictment of Mayor Eric Adams, released on Thursday, exposes a range of concerning anecdotes discovered during the investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI. For example, in June 2021, following Eric Adams’s win in the Democratic primary for mayor, his aide, Rana Abbasova, reached out to Cenk Öcal, the general manager of Turkish Airlines, to book suspiciously cheap flights to Istanbul for Adams, priced at just $50. The day after his election in November, Turkish pro-government journalist Arda Sayiner, expressed excitement about leveraging Adams’s victory to benefit the AKP’s interests. Before taking office in 2022, Adams and his partner embarked on a “spiritual journey” to Ghana, but it was later revealed that Turkish Airlines covered most of the $14,000 bill for their business-class tickets, including a luxury restaurant visit during a nine-hour layover in Istanbul. In September 2021, Reyhan Özgür, Consul General Turkish Consulate General in New York, pushed Adams to expedite approval for a new Turkish Consulate despite serious fire safety concerns, suggesting it was Adams’s “turn” to help Turkiye. While fundraising for his campaign, Sayiner suggested raising illegal foreign donations, and to Abbasova’s surprise, Adams agreed. Following an FBI investigation, Abbasova began cooperating with authorities, revealing that Adams often deleted messages to cover his tracks. Less than two weeks into his term, Adams met with Sayiner and Abbasova to discuss foreign donations, with Sayiner indicating he could secure significant funds if Adams visited Turkiye. In September 2023, Adams attended a high-priced dinner for foreign donors, where Sayiner collected funds that were later funneled illegally into his campaign. Finally, after the FBI seized Adams’s phone in November 2023, he claimed he forgot the password, which he had changed to prevent tampering during the investigation.
Analyzing the profiles of Turkish individuals involved in Eric Adams’s indictment is essential for understanding the complex networks connecting them to the AKP government and their lobbying efforts in the U.S. The individuals named in the indictment function similarly to lobbyists working to promote AKP priorities. For instance, one individual, an entrepreneur with celebrity connections and a columnist for a pro-AKP media, appears to have been tasked by the government to engage in lobbying in the U.S. Similarly, another wealthy businessman who founded a prominent university in Istanbul sought Adams’s support to open a charter school in New York, illustrating how their efforts could benefit their companies in both Turkiye and the U.S.
Another key figure, a prominent businesswoman and owner of a luxury hotel in Istanbul, also plays a significant role. Additionally, a Turkish Airlines manager deserves attention for his ability to connect with high-profile individuals in the U.S., likely acting on directives from the AKP government; he was also involved in Adams’s mayoral transition committee. Each of these figures has strong ties to the AKP government. Notably, a representative from the New York Consulate exemplifies how government officials can be part of corrupt networks. Finally, another significant individual is recognized for the common practice of corrupt governments to view Central Asian or Middle Eastern staffers as vulnerable targets who can facilitate access to key individuals.
The indictment of Eric Adams highlights how Turkish influencers target politicians to gain access and leverage their influence. They utilize connections with Turkish Airlines and businesspeople to reach vulnerable staffers and sway their targets. This situation illustrates how corrupt governments can seek to exert influence over bureaucrats and politicians. The indictment raises two critical questions: First, it prompts inquiries into whether there are ongoing efforts by the AKP government in Washington, D.C., to engage candidates for the 2024 presidential elections. Specifically, what Turkish businesspeople have donated to election campaigns, and to what extent does the AKP government influence them? Second, the investments made by Turkish officials in the New York mayor’s office seem to aim for more than simply securing a permit from the fire department. Given the AKP government’s previous attempts to influence the Halk Bank case in New York, this situation likely involves deeper motives. Overall, the indictment will serve as an essential case study for academics and researchers examining how authoritarian governments use financial power to influence politicians and engage in illegal activities.