Ankara prosecutor not to proceed against Erdoğan’s close circle in offshore accounts case

ANKARA

An Ankara prosecutor has decided not to proceed against President Tayyip Erdoğan’s close circle—including his brother, his son and his executive assistant—over the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) claim that millions of dollars flowed between Erdoğan’s close circle and an offshore company, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

The Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office verified the veracity of the banking documents submitted by the CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to the authorities, accusing five people of making transactions worth $15 million to an offshore company account in the tax-haven Isle of Man, but said in its ruling that the relevant transactions were not a part of a money laundering crime.

On Dec. 1, 2017, the spokesperson for the CHP, Bülent Tezcan, held a news conference at the Turkish Parliament, showing off documents to the assembled press, saying they were bank receipts detailing transactions between Bellway Limited, a company established in August 2011 in the British Crown dependency of the Isle of Man, and Erdoğan’s close circle.

“As there is no concrete evidence the suspects obtained the money transferred to the Bellway company via criminal means, it has been ruled that legal proceedings are unnecessary, on behalf of the public, on charges of money laundering,” the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office said in its ruling dated Feb. 9.

“These five people have never sent money to this company or place,” said Erdoğan, previously blasting Kılıçdaroğlu for “lying” regarding the offshore claims.

“On the contrary, they received money because they had sold their existing companies. Money was not sent there ... For those who understand commerce, trade and entrepreneurship, there is no problem with these actions,” he said on Nov. 29, 2017.