Turkey 'Democracy or Dictatorship?' New graft probe taken from prosecutor Akkaş.

Turkey 'Democracy or Dictatorship?' New graft probe taken from prosecutor Akkaş.(TZ).

A new graft probe has been taken from prosecutor Muammer Akkaş, who is known for his work on sensitive cases like the Ergenekon coup plot and the murder of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, a move that could further cast a shadow over the corruption investigation.

LIVE UPDATES15:10 - AK Party deputy urges president to intervene in Turkey's political turmoilJustice and Development Party (AK Party) Ankara deputy Haluk Özdalga has stated that the political turmoil Turkey is going through is currently above the conflict between government and the Hizmet movement and needs an urgent intervention by President Abdullah Gül, further deeming it a crisis of both government and democracy.

“The turmoil we are going through -- which I call a crisis of government and democracy -- is at such an extent that the damage to the country's regime, economy and international esteem is growing incrementally,” Özdalga said, further adding that the support of the president is a must in such a chaotic atmosphere.

“Leaving all personal benefits and special conditions behind, the president should take steps towards [intervening] within the framework of his constitutional authorities. He seems to be the only way out to overcome the current crisis. 

The tension and chaos which cannot be eased might lead to permanent damage to the country. I personally think President Abdullah Gül should urgently intervene in this political turmoil and hope this unrest will come to a halt through the efforts of our president.”

14:30 - New graft probe taken from prosecutor AkkaşOn Wednesday, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ordered the detention of 30 suspects, including a number of deputies and businessmen. The İstanbul Police Department, which saw an extensive purge of its top officers over the last week, has not complied with the order, however.Akkaş was leading the investigation, which is seen as the second round of a graft probe that has shaken Turkey's political establishment.

Early media reports claimed that the investigation concerns al-Qaeda operations in Turkey as well as business deals in which deputies and public officials are involved.Akkaş gave the order to detain the suspects to the İstanbul police in the afternoon. The police, however, did not immediately comply; the İstanbul Police Department did not assign a team to carry out the mission.

17:20- İstanbul chief public prosecutor criticizes handling of corruption investigationİstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor has criticized handling of the corruption investigation into the alleged bribery and tender rigging in which dozens of well-known businessmen and sons of three ministers were detained.İstanbul chief prosecutor criticized prosecutors for launching the investigation last week without informing his office.

16:30 - Prosecutor Akkaş says he was blocked from investigating new graft probe“All my colleagues and the public should know that I have been prevented from doing my duty,” the prosecutor said in a statement sent to media outlets on Thursday.

16:10- MHP leader blasts Erdoğan's gov't over graft scandalCommenting on the graft scandal that has hit the country, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said on Thursday that the stain upon ruling party can no longer be washed away given that the corruption has spread “all around.”Bahçeli, in a press conference held prior to the party's general meeting, said: “The graft has wrapped around the entire country like an octopus. The corruption that has spread everywhere cannot be cleared away from this moment on,” calling further for an objective and fair trial as the country suffers from a “depression."
“This gruesome graft scandal has rocked the country, marking the biggest blow in recent years. The ruling party has lost all of its moral values; the way it is desperate and puzzled is very pathetic in my view. It is of much significance that the probe should resume till the end, in an impartial manner though. These accusations and allegations should be blasted away. As long as the judiciary is transparent, Turkey will always win,” Bahçeli added.

He concluded his speech by slamming the government over its involvement in the corruption, further accusing the party of having a prior record of graft, without specifying particular incidents.

Hmmm.....As some readers know i've been posting about 'Sanctions that benefit Turkey' foe almost two years, so i'm not surprised, but this could only happen because the Obama 'admin' allowed it.

Related: Much, much more here:

"Sanctions That Benefit" - Iranian gold stars in Turkish corruption scandal 

Great overview of 'events' here: 

AKP's Longest Day: Erdogan's Omnipotence Backfires Spectaculary, But Will The Protests Trigger Early Elections?

Iranian billionaire businessman, Zanjani claims his business is legal, denies involvement in Turkey corruption scandal.

Iranian billionaire businessman, Zanjani claims his business is legal, denies involvement in Turkey corruption scandal.(Taz).

Iranian billionaire businessman, Babak Zanjani has denied involvement in Turkey's corruption scandal, claiming his business is completely legal. Zanjani made the remarks in a note published on Dec. 25 on Sorinet Group`s official website.

Addressing the Turkish public, Zanjani said that all of his business in Turkey is legal, adding that he has not faced any restrictions or investigation regarding to his commercial activities, excluding the number of restrictions which have been applied to Iranian citizens.

Zanjani also underlined that he has met Reza Zarrab only few time, adding that "I am not aware of his activities."
"We did not carry out any common business," he said.
Zanjani went on to note that, "if Zarraf had done any illegal business, I would not be responsible for that."

Zarrab, accused of being the ringleader in Turkey of a shady money-laundering and gold-smuggling ring established to dodge sanctions against Iran, has said to prosecutors interrogating him that Zanjani is his boss.

The Haberturk daily published a story on Dec. 21 claiming that Zanjani, whom Zarrab referred to as "my chief," evaded the operation at the last minute. The daily claimed that emails between the two showed that Zanjani had planned to come to Turkey to meet with Zarrab in a luxury hotel in Antalya this week.
Zanjani denies that he is Zarrab`s chief, adding that his business with Zarrab - which was very limited in terms of amount--was completely legal.

Zanjani also defended his gold trade in Turkey.
"I bought 1.5 tons of gold from Ghana. I planned to sell 500 kilograms of that amount in Turkey and 1000 kilograms in Dubai. In Istanbul Ataturk Airport officials asked for the gold's documents and permitted the plane to leave the airport after the investigation," he said.

Turkish officials studied the issue repeatedly and thoroughly, Zanjani said, adding that there has not been any accusation made against him.

Haberturk claimed that when the gold was seized in Istanbul during an inspection of a ULS Airlines cargo jet en route to Dubai, Zanjani panicked. Thinking it would be confiscated by the Turkish state, he sent an urgent email asking Zarrab to immediately secure the gold by any means necessary. Zarrab used an encrypted email. This is said to be his exclusive form of communication for security reasons.

The surveillance records accused Zarrab of bribing a politician, whose name is also included in the interrogation report, and having the cargo sent to Dubai with fabricated documents saying the shipment carried "minerals."

Zanjani noted that his holding includes 64 companies, with total income which hits 6-7 billion euro per year and does not need "such little businesses" as claimed by the media.

Zanjani, whose name is blacklisted by EU and United States sanctions, owns a cosmetic company called Kont Cosmetic in Turkey. Zanjani also owns an air travel, land transportation, petrol and banking company under the name of Kont Group, which is based in Istanbul.
He is also Shareholder of Turkish "Onur" Airline Company.Hmmm.....'Sanctions that Benefit.'

İstanbul prosecutor orders detention of 30 people, police resist.

İstanbul prosecutor orders detention of 30 people, police resist.(TZ).

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has ordered the detention of 30 suspects, including a number of deputies and businessmen. The İstanbul Police Department, which saw an extensive purge of its top officers over the last week, has not complied with the order, however.

Prosecutor Muammer Akkaş, known for his work on sensitive cases like the Ergenekon coup plot and the murder of the Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, is leading the investigation, which is seen as the second round of a graft probe that has shaken Turkey's political establishment.

Early media reports claimed that the investigation concerns al-Qaeda operations in Turkey as well as business deals in which deputies and public officials are involved.

Akkaş gave the order to detain the suspects to the İstanbul police in the afternoon. The police, however, did not immediately comply; the İstanbul Police Department did not assign a team to carry out the mission. Later that day all the department's police chiefs were summoned to a meeting at the department's headquarters.

In an overnight change to police procedure for judicial investigations last week, the government stifled prosecutorial independence by requiring police officers to report to their superiors in all investigations. In the current probe into corruption and bribery, that would have forced the police to inform the interior minister that they were investigating his son.

The government has also removed or reassigned hundreds of police officers involved in the investigation.The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the police officers who refused to carry out the detention orders.

Turkish media have reported that the probe involves allegations against İstanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu, Selami Altınok and the chief of the financial crimes unit, Hakan Sıralı, of insubordination, violation of the confidentiality of an investigation and aiding and abetting a criminal.

Last week the prosecution summoned the chief of the İstanbul Police Department's intelligence unit, Ahmet Arıbaş, to testify about allegations that he had leaked documents about the corruption investigation. The department's newly appointed head Selami Altınok, however, turned down the court's request and declined to send the officer.Around $100 billion in bribes are said to be involved in the case.

Soon after the story surfaced, Turkish media outlets claiming to have sources close to the case said that the following people were named in the detention order: Yasin al-Qadi, listed as a terrorist by the UN; Üsame Kutup; Orhan Cemal Kalyoncu; Turkish State Railways (TCDD) General Director Süleyman Karaman; İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Secretary-General Adem Baştürk; the prime minister's son, Bilal Erdoğan; as well as businessmen Mustafa Latif Topbaş, Abdullah Tivnikli and Cengiz Aktürk. None of these names had been confirmed at press time.Hmmm.....Almost like a 'Banana republic'.

Obama's BFF PM Erdogan replaces 10 ministers in spiraling graft scandal.

Obama's BFF PM Erdogan replaces 10 ministers in spiraling graft scandal.(RT).

The move came late on Wednesday, shortly after the resignation of interior, economy, and environment ministers. Each of them had a son detained on December 17 in a long-running investigation into graft allegations involving state-run lender Halkbank.

After a closed-door meeting with President Abdullah Gul in Ankara, Erdogan has named 10 new ministers.

Among the high profile replacements is EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis, who is also accused of involvement in the corruption scandal. Erdogan replaced the ministers for justice, transport, family, sports and industry, and the deputy prime minister.

“Some of my friends have asked to be excused due to the recent developments, some are quitting the Cabinet because of their candidature [at the upcoming local elections] and others are changes proposed to the President within my discretion and approved by him,” Erdogan told reporters during a press briefing, according to Hurriyet newspaper.

Earlier on Wednesday, resigned Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar turned against the Turkish leader, urging him to step down.

"For the sake of the wellbeing of this nation and country, I believe the prime minister should resign," he told NTV news.

Meanwhile, protesters clashed with police while holding a rally against corruption in Istanbul's Kadikoy district.

The scandal poses an unprecedented challenge to his 11-year rule, which survived a massive anti-government demonstration that swept the nation in mid-2013.

Dozens of people have been arrested in the ongoing corruption investigation, including the head of Halkbank. The government responded by purging police investigators describing the probe as a “dirty game.” Erdogan claimed it was a plot by foreign and other anti-government forces ahead of the March local elections.

According to Hurriyet newspaper, up to 550 police officers - including senior commanders - have been dismissed nationwide in the past week by now former Interior Minister Muammer Guler.


Many have pointed out the power struggle between Erdogan’s government and influential Turkish Islamic leader Muhammed Fethullah Gulen, who now lives in self-imposed exile in the US. He is said to have many followers within the country’s police and judiciary bodies. Gulen has denied any involvement in the investigation. Hmmm.....For a PM wo controls everything in his country it is almost impossible all this happened without him knowing .

Three Turkish ministers in Erdogan's gov step down over graft scandal.

Three Turkish ministers in Erdogan's gov step down over graft scandal.(presstv).

Three Turkish ministers have stepped down amid a corruption scandal that has plagued the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Wednesday, Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar announced his resignation just hours after Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan both stepped down.

Bayraktar called on the prime minister to leave the cabinet too.

Some 24 people, including the sons of interior and economy ministers, chief executive of state-owned Halkbank, Suleyman Aslan, and prominent businessmen close to Erdogan have been formally charged with the corruption scandal that has shaken the country’s political establishment.

Dozens of senior police officials, including Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin, were also removed from their posts.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the government might fire cabinet ministers over the high-level scandal.

This comes while Erdogan has denounced the probe as a plot to undermine his government ahead of the local elections in March.

On Saturday, the Turkish prime minister warned that he might expel some foreign diplomats involved in “provocative actions” against the Turkish state.
“These recent days, very strangely, ambassadors get involved in some provocative acts. I am calling on them from here, do your job. If you leave your area of duty, this could extend into our government’s area of jurisdiction. We do not have to keep you in our country,” Erdogan told the supporters of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the province of Samsun.


Analysts say the graft scandal is a big challenge for Erdogan, who has pledged to root out corruption in the country.Hmmmm.....Next if all fails he'll claim "It's a Zionist plot".

"Islamist Turkey's Democracy" 400 more police officers in İstanbul removed from duty.

"Islamist Turkey's Democracy" 400 more police officers in İstanbul removed from duty.(TZ).

Four hundred police officers at the İstanbul Police Department have been removed from duty and are being transferred in the midst of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption and bribery, sources say.

The removed police officers took part in the corruption investigation, which involves four ministers, Today's Zaman learned form sources speaking under condition of anonymity.

The officers, who worked at different departments at the İstanbul Police Department, are currently being informed of their new posts.

In an earlier purge, the government removed 15 police chiefs at the Antalya Police Department on Monday. The police chiefs were then appointed to different posts.Two police chiefs at the Ankara Police Department were transferred from their posts for the second time in five days.

With the latest transfers at the İstanbul Police Department, the number of police officers who have been removed from their posts across Turkey now exceeds 500.

Since the investigation became public last Tuesday with the detention of some bureaucrats and businessmen as well as the sons of three ministers, dozens of police officers and police chiefs have been removed from their posts in a move that has been interpreted as a government attempt to intervene in the graft investigation.

"Sanctions That Benefit" - Corruption investigation bombards US-Iran-Turkey triangle.

"Sanctions That Benefit" - Corruption investigation bombards US-Iran-Turkey triangle.(HD).

The ongoing bribery investigation in Turkey has revealed the fact that the unknowns about the “Iran-Halkbank-gold” triangle outnumber the knowns. 

Since the United States and European Union countries imposed sanctions on Iran in 2010, financial operations and transactions with Iran have been exposed to severe restrictions. As of March 2012, Iran has also been banned from using the international money-transfer system SWIFT. Hence it had become impossible to transfer money to and from Iran.

Since Turkey was unable to pay for the natural gas and oil it has been buying from Iran through routine channels, it opened a bank account for Iran at Halkbank to hold the amount equivalent to its purchase. And Iran converted the deposits in these accounts to gold, later transferring it back to the country. 

The U.S. has been grouching about this complicated system for a long time. Last April, 47 representatives in the U.S. Congress signed a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew calling for sanctions against Halkbank for its operations. They claimed that Halkbank has been used as a conduit to evade sanctions by Turkey and Iran. 

Last week David Cohen, the U.S. Treasury’s Undersecretary of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, visited Turkey right after the operation and said the latest rapprochement between the U.S. and Iran does not mean that sanctions have been relaxed.

He reportedly urged Turkey to show the required sensitivity on the issue and reiterated the warnings made to Turkey many times before.

The U.S. also banned gold exports to Iran in July 2013. So was it right for Turkey to continue the gold exchange?

Jonathan Schanzer from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies says that even if not directly against the sanctions, this system is against the spirit of the sanctions. Halkbank, on the other hand, has always been denying the claims that it has been evading the sanctions on Iran. 

Whatever the results of the investigation, it is already certain that it will affect the Turkey-Iran energy trade very badly. 

First and foremost, from now on Turkey will most probably be exposed to the same conditions as other countries. The timing of the operation couldn’t be worse since it coincides with the discussions on softening, even the lifting of sanctions on Iran. Iran has recently engaged in constructive interaction not only with the U.S., but with the whole world. And it is not only the nuclear deal which is at stake. Iran is likely to play a significant behind-the-scenes role to end the Syrian war.

The West, frightened at the increasing power of radical Islamists in Syria, has desperately caved in to maintaining the Bashar al-Assad regime. Hence Western countries depend on Tehran’s assistance in dealing with al-Assad. This is mainly why last week President Barack Obama objected to the bill submitted by more than 25 Republican and Democratic senators requiring new sanctions on Iran. He insisted that the bill would disrupt delicate talks being held between Tehran and world powers and kill the agreement reached in Geneva on Nov. 24.

As President Hassan Rouhani wrote for Washington Post in September, international politics are no longer a zero-sum game. Hence the urgent need to lift the sanctions which are against the Zeitgeist.
This would also save the governments from this kind of complicated, fantastic and bizarre operations.

Much , much more here:

"Sanctions That Benefit" - Iranian gold stars in Turkish corruption scandal