President Erdoğan sues CHP head for 1.5 million liras

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has filed a complaint against main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, demanding non-pecuinary damages worth 1.5 million Turkish Liras over recent comments.

Kılıçdaroğlu had challenged Erdoğan to reveal his and his family’s wealth, blasting the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for rejecting a probe into revelations in the Paradise Papers on Nov. 21.

Erdoğan’s lawyers filed the complaint against the CHP head on Nov. 24, demanding 1.5 liras (around $350,000) for the comments.

Kılıçdaroğlu had recalled that Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said he would welcome any investigation into the issue, after his son’s names had appeared as the owners of multiple compaines based in the tax haven of Malta. However, the parliament rejected the probe with AKP’s votes.

“Did the AKP reject the probe with your [Yıldırım] will or the presidential palace’s will? I want to know. I believe it was the will of the palace,” he asked, referring to the president’s office.

“Reveal to us however many millions of dollars you have. And where is that money? Let us see it first,” he said to Erdoğan.

The CHP leader also suggested that Erdoğan’s close circle has deposited money in many off-shore tax havens.

“Erdoğan, I will ask you a simple question: Do you know that your children, your brother-in-law, your father-in-law, your brother, and your former executive assistants have deposited millions of U.S. dollars into a company based in off-shore tax-havens?” Kılıçdaroğlu said, referring to a specific company without citing its name.

“I will tell you the founding capital of that company: One pound sterling. But the money sent to it is millions of dollars. I am waiting for an answer to this,” he added.