Tag: Scandal

“10,000,000 dollars is not enough”

A new recording of a phone call between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan and his son Bilal has been leaked last night.

In the alleged recording, Erdoğan and his son are discussing the amount of the bribe to be taken from a businessman named Sıtkı Ayan. Erdoğan finds the offered 10 million dollars insufficient, and instructs his son not to accept unless Ayan provides the amount he promised.

Sıtkı Ayan is the owner of SOM Petrol, a London-based corporation that owns oil and gas wells in various countries and turns over billions of dollars every year. Turang Transit Transportation, also owned by Mr. Ayan, was awarded the government contract to build a $11.5 billion pipeline to transport natural gas from Iran and Turkmenistan to Europe. The investment was subsidised by the government, and the corporation was held exempt from VAT and various other taxes and duties.

According to the whistleblowers who leaked the call, Mr. Ayan pays regular bribes to Prime Minister Erdoğan, just like the “other businessmen”.

Transcript:

Bilal Erdoğan: Mr. Sıtkı came yesterday, saying he couldn’t do the transfer properly, that he currently has about 10 or so (million dollars), that he can give it whenever we want…
Tayyip Erdoğan: No no, don’t you take it.
Bilal Erdoğan: No I won’t, but I don’t know what we’ll do now.
Tayyip Erdoğan: No, don’t take it. If he’s going to bring what he promised, then let him bring it. If not, then no need. Others can bring it, so why can’t he, huh? What do they think is? But they are falling now, they’ll fall on our laps, don’t you worry.
Bilal Erdoğan: OK, daddy.

Click here to listen to the recording (in Turkish):

Alternative link: watch?v=4GZBw369nEM

February 27, 2014
Leaked Recording of Turkish PM Erdogan Instructing Son to Hide Huge Sums of Money

Turkey is shaking with the leaked alleged voice recording of PM Tayyip Erdoğan and his son.

In the new voice recording, Erdoğan and his son Bilal allegedly discuss during five wiretapped phone conversations on plans how to hide huge sums of cash on the day when police raided a number of venues as part of a corruption investigation that has implicated sons of three Turkish ministers, businessmen and chief of the state bank. At the beginning of the phone conversation, the Prime Minister briefs his son Bilal about the raid and asks him to “zero” the amount (at least $1 billion cash) stashed at five houses. The authenticity of the recordings has not been verified.

Hakan Fidan, undersecretary of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) was immediately called in prime ministry. Prime ministry office was also published an immediate response, claiming the recording to be a “defile montage” and they will press charges.

After an emergency meeting, Turkish main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has said the Turkish government has lost its legitimacy and called on Turkish Prime Minister to resign immediately after Erdoğan’s voice recording surfaced online.

Leaked recording
http://www.turkishnews.com/videos/videos/erdogani-bitiren-ses-kaydi/

Dec 17, 2013 08:02 a.m.

RTE: Are you home son?
Bilal E(son): Yes father
RTE: Now! This morning [they] made an operation. Ali Agaoglu, Reza Zerrab, Erdogan’s [Bayraktar-ex minister] son, Zafer’s [Caglayan – ex-minister] son, Muammer’s [Guler – ex-minister] son, etc.. All their houses are being searched now.
BE: Tell again, daddy
RTE: I’m saying that Muammer’s son, Zafer’s son, Erdogan’s son, Ali Agaoglu, Reza Zerrab etc they are searching the houses of 18 people under a big corruption operation thing.
BE: yes
RTE: OK? Now, what I say is, you take everything that you have in the house out. OK?
BE: What can I have on me dad! There is your money in the safe
RTE: That’s what I am saying. Now, I am sending your sister. OK?
BE: You are sending who?
RTE: Your sister, I’m saying.
BE: Eh, OK
RTE: Then,… She has that information, OK. Talk with your big brother
BE: Yes
RTE: On him,,, Let’s do…, talk with your uncle too, he should also take out, also talk to your [maternal] uncle, he should also…
BE: What should we do with these daddy, where should we put them?
RTE: To specific places, to some specific places… do it
(A woman’s voice on background saying “Berat”)
BE: Berat also has some
RTE: That’s what I am saying. Now, get together, go get your uncle, I don’t know if Uncle Ziya has some, OK? Also immediately [inform] your brother Burak too.
NE: OK father. You mean Sumeyye, I mean take out, Sumeyye will tell me where to take them?
RTE: Yes, fine. C’mon now, do [it] think about yours among yourselves with your uncle, etc
NE: on what to do?
RTE: Yes, yes, let’s contact fast, until 10.00. Because the issue is…
NE: OK father
RTE: OK? Keep in touch
NE: OK daddy

2nd call 11.17

NE: Father, We got together with Brother Hasan etc. Brother Berat, my uncle, we are together, thinking about it. Berat has another idea. He says that let’s give some of it to Faruk [Kalyoncu] for the other “business/thing” so he can process them like the previous ones. Shall we do it, we can solve a big amount with this.
RTE: That may be
NE: OK. For the other part, because we started a business partnership with Mehmet Gur, we thought of giving it to him saying “keep it, as the projects come you can use from that. This way, we will be able to dissolve and move the rest to somewhere else.
RTE: OK, fine, as long as you do…
NE: OK
RTE: Did Sumeyye arrive?
NE: She arrived home, she’ll now come here. OK daddy, we will sort this out today, inshallah (with God’s permission). Anything else?
RTE: It would be good if you do… If you can dissolve them all.
BE: Yes, we will dissolve them all, inshallah

3rd call 15.39
RTE: Did you do the other tasks I gave you?
BE: We will finish them in the evening. We sorted some out; We sorted the Berat part, now we will first handle the part with Mehmet Gur and the rest, we will do that when it gets dark.
RTE:….
BE: Inshallah
RTE: What did Sumeyye do?
BE: She took them out, brought, we talked, etc.
RTE: Did she sort both sides?
BE: I think so daddy, she said she emptied both.
RTE: Both sides
BE: Yes, she said both of them, but you mean this by saying both sides, right?
RTE: Whatever. OK, fine
BE: What time will you arrive?
RTE: About 12
BE: Have a safe journey
RTE: Do not talk on the phone

4th call 23.15
BE: Hi daddy, I am calling to… we did [it] mostly. Eee, did you call me daddy?
RTE: No I did not, you called me
BE: I was called from a secret number
RTE: By saying mostly, did you fully dissolve it
BE: We did not zeroized it yet daddy. Let me explain.. We still have a 30 million euros that we could not yet dissolve. Berat thought of something.. There was an additional 25 million dollars that Ahmet Calik should receive. They say let’s give this [to him] there. When the money comes, we do [something], they say. And with the remaining money we can buy a flat from Sehrizar, he says. What do you say, father?
RTE: ….
(background soun: Ayyy)
BE: Daddy
RTE: Is Sumeyye with you?
BE: Yes with me, should I call her?
RTE: No, there was another sound, that’s why I asked
BE: Umm.. I mean, he can transfer 35 million dollars to Calik and buy a flat from Sherizar with the remaining.
RTE: Whatever, we will sort it
BE: Should we do it like this?
RTE: OK do it
BE: Do you want them all dissolved father, or do you want some money for yourself
RTE: No, it cannot stay, son. You could transfer that to the other, with Mehmet you could transfer it there…
BE: Yes, we gave to them. We gave 20 to them
RTE: For God’s sake, first you should’ve transferred you could then do…
BE: we were able to give this much for now, it is hard already, it takes too much space. We are putting some of it to another place, we gave part of it to Tunc, and then…
RTE: did you transfer all to Tunc?
BE: (Sumeyye, can you come) Where, father?
RTE: To Tunc, I say, did you transfer all to Tunc?
BE: They asked, I guess he said that he could take 10 million euros.
RTE: Whatever. Do not talk this like this on this.
BE: OK, then, we will sort it as such
RTE: Ok do it. I am not able to come tonight, I will stay in Ankara
BE:OK, we are sorting it out. You do not worry

5th call
18.12.2013 10.58
RTE. I wondered if everything is fine, so I called
BE: No, nothing. We finished the tasks you gave us, with the help of the God
RTE: Is it all zeroed?
BE: Fully, I mean saying zeroed, how should I put it? I had Samandira and Maltepe’s money, 730.000 USD and 300.000 TL. I will handle these too. We owe 1 million TL to Faruk İsik (AKP MP); I will give those to him and tell him to transfer the rest to the academy.
RTE: Do not talk openly
BE: Should’t I talk?
RTE: Do not talk, OK?
BE: OK daddy
RTE: I mean, do not keep anything on you, whatever it is Samandira or whatever… Send it to where it needs to be, where do you keep it?
BE: OK daddy, but I think currently we are under surveillance
RTE: What have I been telling to you since the very beginning!
BE: But is it the bodyguard team? Who is following us father?
RTE: Son, you are being tapped
BE: But they are also visually monitoring, they say
RTE: That may be true. Now, we did some things (meaning intervention) in Istanbul security

February 25, 2014
Turkey’s Wrong Turn

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was in Brussels last week seeking to repair relations with Europe, but the first place to look for a solution is within himself. Once hailed as the leader of a model Muslim democracy, he has created a political disaster at home, transforming Turkey into an authoritarian state that poses dangers not just for itself but for its allies in NATO, including the United States.

The latest turmoil has its roots in a political war between Mr. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party and his former close allies who follow Fethullah Gulen, a moderate Islamic scholar who lives in Pennsylvania. The tensions erupted into the open last month with a corruption probe that led to the resignation of four government ministers and threatened to ensnare Mr. Erdogan’s family. The prime minister called the probe a “coup attempt” and blamed a “secret organization” within the judiciary and police directed by the Gulen movement and serving “foreign powers” like the United States and Israel. The government has since purged hundreds of police officials and prosecutors and sought to assert control over the judiciary. It also drafted legislation expanding the government’s power to appoint judges and prosecutors, further breaching judicial independence, and has prevented journalists from reporting freely. All the while, Mr. Erdogan has spewed endless conspiracy theories and incendiary rhetoric, even hinting at American treachery and suggesting that the American ambassador might be expelled.

The probe and Mr. Erdogan’s reaction may well be politically motivated. There are important local elections in March. But Mr. Erdogan should be insisting that the probe be fair and transparent, not trying to derail it. His ruthless ways and his attempt to crush dissent are not new, as the crackdown against demonstrators during protests last June showed. Such actions trample on democratic reforms demanded by the European Union as part of Turkey’s bid for union membership, which may be more in peril than ever, and are increasingly at odds with the ground rules for NATO members.

Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was right when he said in Brussels that the Europeans must demand that Turkey return to the rule of law. The Obama administration also needs to send a strong message about the damaging course Mr. Erdogan is pursuing. Whether Turkey nurtures its hard-won democracy, which has contributed to its impressive economic growth, or turns authoritarian is as critical to regional stability and to its NATO allies as it is to Turks.

The New York Times, 27, JAN.2014

A VERSION OF THIS EDITORIAL APPEARS IN PRINT ON JANUARY 28, 2014, IN THE INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES.

January 28, 2014
FBI organizes almost all terror plots in the US

FBI organizes almost all terror plots in the US

The Federal Bureau of Investigation employs upwards of 15,000 undercover agents today, ten times what they had on the roster back in 1975.

If you think that’s a few spies too many — spies earning as much as $100,000 per assignment — one doesn’t have to go too deep into their track record to see their accomplishments. Those agents are responsible for an overwhelming amount of terrorist stings that have stopped major domestic catastrophes in the vein of 9/11 from happening on American soil.

Another thing those agents are responsible for, however, is plotting those very schemes.

The FBI has in recent years used trained informants not just to snitch on suspected terrorists, but to set them up from the get-go. A recent report put together by Mother Jones and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California-Berkley analyses some striking statistics about the role of FBI informants in terrorism cases that the Bureau has targeted in the decade since the September 11 attacks.

The report reveals that the FBI regularly infiltrates communities where they suspect terrorist-minded individuals to be engaging with others. Regardless of their intentions, agents are sent in to converse within the community, find suspects that could potentially carry out “lone wolf” attacks and then, more or less, encourage them to do so. By providing weaponry, funds and a plan, FBI-directed agents will encourage otherwise-unwilling participants to plot out terrorist attacks, only to bust them before any events fully materialize.

Additionally, one former high-level FBI officials speaking to Mother Jones says that, for every informant officially employed by the bureau, up to three unofficial agents are working undercover.

The FBI has used those informants to set-up and thus shut-down several of the more high profile would-be attacks in recent years. The report reveals that the Washington DC Metro bombing plot, the New York City subway plot, the attempt to blow up Chicago’s Sears Tower and dozens more were all orchestrated by FBI agents. In fact, reads the report, only three of the more well-known terror plots of the last decade weren’t orchestrated by FBI-involved agents.

The report reveals that in many of the stings, important meetings between informants and the unknowing participants are left purposely unrecorded, as to avoid any entrapment charges that could cause the case to be dismissed. Perhaps the most high-profile of the FBI-proposed plots was the case of the Newburgh 4. Around an hour outside of New York City, an informant infiltrated a Muslim community and engaged four local men to carry out a series of attacks. Those men may have never actually carried out an attack, but once the informant offered them a plot and a pair of missiles, they agreed. Defense attorneys cried “entrapment,” but the men still were sentenced to 25 years apiece.

“The problem with the cases we’re talking about is that defendants would not have done anything if not kicked in the ass by government agents,” Martin Stolar tells Mother Jones. Stolar represented the suspect involved in a New York City bombing plot that was set-up by FBI agents. “They’re creating crimes to solve crimes so they can claim a victory in the war on terror.” For their part, the FBI says this method is a plan for “preemption,” “prevention” and “disruption.”

The report also reveals that, of the 500-plus prosecutions of terrorism-related cases they analyzed, nearly half of them involved the use of informants, many of whom worked for the FBI in exchange for money or to work off criminal charges. Of the 158 prosecutions carried out, 49 defendants participated in plots that agent provocateurs arranged on behalf of the FBI.

Experts note that the chance of winning a terrorism-related trial, entrapment or not, is near impossible. “The plots people are accused of being part of — attacking subway systems or trying to bomb a building — are so frightening that they can overwhelm a jury,” David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor, tells Mother Jones. Since 9/11, almost two-thirds of the cases linked to terrorism have ended with guilty pleas. “They don’t say, ‘I’ve been entrapped,’ or, ‘I was immature,’” a retired FBI official remarks.

All of this and those guilty pleas often stem for just being in the right place at the wrong time. Farhana Khera of the group Muslim Advocate notes that agents go into mosques on “fishing expeditions” just to see where they can get interest in the community. “The FBI is now telling agents they can go into houses of worship without probable cause,” says Khera. “That raises serious constitutional issues.”

From the set-up to the big finish, the whole sting operation is ripe with constitutional issues such as that. A decade since 9/11, however, the FBI is reaching through whatever means it can pull together to keep terrorists — or whom they think could someday become one — from ever hurting America.

www.rt.com, 09 September, 2011

September 21, 2011
CENSORED: The Black Banners

One former FBI agent is finding out firsthand that freedom of speech isn’t something guaranteed to every American. Colleagues at the CIA are keeping him from printing some of his own personal accounts in an upcoming book about the 9/11 attacks.

In his upcoming book “The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against Al Qaeda,” Ali H. Soufan wants to write that the Central Intelligence Agency could have had a chance at keeping the September 11 terror attacks from happening. Soufan says that the CIA knew about two of the hijackers involved in the al-Qaeda plot, and while that information might have been of great interest to the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency withheld the crucial information.

Specifically, Soufan says that the CIA had detailed information on 9/11 hijacker Abu Zubaydah as early as January 2000 but neglected to act on it.

Also in his memoirs, Soufan writes detailed accounts of CIA interrogations tactics that he saw brutally executed firsthand by agents, which he were unnecessary and counterproductive. The agency is asking the author to remove the pronouns “I” and “me” from that chapter as if to discredit his personal accounts from specific incidents.

Unfortunately, Soufan’s stories might never make it to print if the CIA has their say. The former agent says that he is being told to take out key parts from his tales, and he believes it isn’t because of a national security scare, but because the CIA doesn’t want to be reflected poorly to the public.

As if that was even possible!

In a report released yesterday by The New York Times, Soufan’s attorneys that they received word that the CIA could end up “embarrassed” by the author’s allegations. Soufan responded to the Times that it is “ridiculous” that they are redacting so much material from his book, but that he will rally to have the information published in further editions.

Much of the material found in Soufan’s book has been available online and in print in the decade since 9/11, but the CIA says that doesn’t mean he can go ahead and talk about it. “Just because something is in the public domain doesn’t mean it’s been officially released or declassified by the U.S. government,” CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood said in a statement.

Upon originally sending a proof of the 600-page manuscript to the Bureau, Soufan was told to prove that dozens of names listed in the document were not classified. He opted simply to substitute aliases for many of the names, but meanwhile the CIA sent the FBI a copy. Their response? Nearly 200 pages of suggested cuts.

With a deadline approaching, Soufan’s “The Black Banners” will hit the printing press this week, with the first edition using all of the cuts demanded by the FBI.

, 26 August 2011

August 29, 2011
SCANDAL: Duchess of York accepts bribe from undercover reporter

Background: The Duchess of York and her daughter had entered Turkish orphanages in disguise to promote anti-Turkish agenda, secretly filming the children without authorization, in criminal violation of privacy laws of both the UK and Turkey which has been under investigation for possible prosecution in coordination with Scotland Yard. -Turkish Forum

Desperate Sarah Ferguson promises access to Prince Andrew for £500,000

Katie Daubs, Staff Reporter, 24 May 2010

The Queen will not be amused.

Just when it seemed her former daughter-in-law had overcome her toe-sucking indiscretions of the early 90s, the cash-strapped Duchess of York has delivered another royal scandal.

On Tuesday, Sarah Ferguson was videotaped accepting a $40,000 U.S. advance from an undercover British reporter posing as a businessman. As she smoked cigarettes in a luxury apartment suite, she promised the man that a £500,000 payment would guarantee access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew, the international British trade ambassador.

“£500,000 to me, when you can, open doors” she can be seen saying on the video, smacking her lips midway through the sentence.

The undercover News of the World reporter asks if that means Prince Andrew, and she responds “yeah” before shaking his hand to confirm the deal.

Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth and fourth in line to the throne “categorically” denied any knowledge of the meeting that took place between the Duchess of York and the News of the World, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

In a statement on Sunday, Ferguson admitted she had financial woes, but “that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgment and I am very sorry that this has happened.”

“I very deeply regret the situation and the embarrassment caused,” she said.

The scandal could mean the icy relationship between the Queen and Ferguson will return. In August 2008, Ferguson was briefly back in the family’s good books after Queen Elizabeth invited her for a weekend at the Royal Family’s summer retreat.

The News of the World said it infiltrated the Duchess’ inner circle after hearing rumours that she was peddling her ex-husband’s influence as a way to rid herself of debt. Ferguson married Andrew in 1986 and they had two children, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, before divorcing in 1996.

Although she was caught with her toes in another man’s mouth before the divorce was finalized, Ferguson remains on good terms with her ex-husband, and reportedly agreed to a yearly £15,000 divorce payment to ensure a good relationship with the royals.

But the settlement has failed to pay her debts or finance her lifestyle. According to British media, Ferguson is facing legal action in Britain for £200,000 in unpaid bills. Meanwhile, the company she founded to manage her own career in the United States collapsed last year with debts of around $1 million (U.S.) According to The New of the World Ferguson said she didn’t have “a pot to p**s in.”

“As long as Sarah thinks you are rich she will be all over you like a rash. She will say she can arrange meetings with Andrew even though he has no idea what is going on. It’s incredible,” the News of the World quoted an unnamed source saying.

The sting was the latest scoop for Mazher Mahmood, nicknamed the “Fake Sheik” after his signature ruse of pretending to be a rich Gulf businessman to dupe celebrities, politicians and suspected criminals. In the video, his voice has been altered and his face is blurred.

During dinner negotiations with the man, the Duchess asked him to sign a confidentiality agreement, but pushed ahead with the deal when he refused. As the lamb and vegetables arrived, Fergie asked him if he was a reporter, but didn’t look into the man’s credentials. After all, he picked up the £273.25 dinner, a rare move for someone in journalism.

She accompanied the man in a limousine to his apartment, where she ogled the $40,000 advance fee and got back to the subject of more money.

The reporter said he would send a wire transfer of £500,000, and Fergie replied that the channels of communication would be opened to her ex-husband.

“As Andrew said, ‘Listen, if he’s going to be kind enough to want to play, the Andrew will play,’” she said.

In the video, Ferguson is seen leaving the apartment carrying the black computer bag filled with cash. She is concerned that the man might want to keep his computer bag, but he assures her it is old.

With files from the Star’s wire services

[2]

Fergie’s dirty deal

Sarah Ferguson shamelessly plots to sell access to Prince Andrew for £500,000

[3]

Türkiye’de çocuk bakımevlerinde gizli çekim yaparak yayınlayan İngiltere York Düşesi Sarah Ferguson 40 bin dolar rüşvet alırken gizlice görüntülendi.

Zengin işadamı gibi davranan ‘News of the World’ muhabirinden eski eşi Birleşik Krallık’ın uluslararası ticaret ve yatırım Temsilcisi York Dükü Prens Andrew’a ulaşması karşılığında 500 bin sterline anlaşan Ferguson, 40 bin dolar avans aldı.

New York’taki otel odasında zengin işadamı gibi davranan News of the World muhabiriyle buluşan York Düşesi Sarah Ferguson, eski eşi Birleşik Krallık’ın uluslararası ticaret ve yatırım Temsilcisi York Dükü Prens Andrew’a ulaşması karşılığında 500 bin sterlin rüşvet karşılığında anlaştı.

Ferguson, gizli çekilen görüntülerde zengin işadamı gibi davranan muhabire, “Andrew beni sağlama almak zorunda olduğunu biliyor çünkü benim hiç param yok. Eğer onunla buluşmak istiyorsan ‘bana bak’ ve Andrew’da “Sana bakar. 10 katını geri alırsın” diye vaatte bulunuyor. 40 bin dolar rüşvet aldıktan sonra kendinden oldukça emin konuşan Ferguson, “İstediğin bütün kapıları açabilirim. Ve senin için bunu yapacağım” diye böbürleniyor.

Ferguson, News of the World muhabirine yaptığını açıklamada, Kraliyet ailesinden 5 parasız ayrıldığını ve Prenses Diana’nın ise 20 milyon aldığını söyledi. Kraliyet bağlantılarından dolayı yapılacak her anlaşmadan yüzde 1 komisyon alması gerektiğini savunan Ferguson, rüşvetin kalanının ise HSBC Bank’taki özel hesabına yatırılmasını istiyor.

York Düşesi Ferguson’un rüşvet görüntülerini izleyen İngiltere Kraliçesi 2’nci Elizabeth’in, Ferguson’un şaşkınlık yaratan talepleri karşısında ‘şok’ olduğu belirtiliyor.

May 24, 2010