Bilal Erdoğan’s lawyer denies claims on money laundering

ROMA - Anadolu Agency

This file photo taken on November 01, 2015 shows Turkish President's son Bilal Erdoğan leaving a polling station in Istanbul on November 1, 2015 after casting his vote for Turkey's legislative. AFP Photo

The lawyer of Bilal Erdoğan, the son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has denied accusations that his client is involved in any money laundering, after Italian media reported that an investigation has been launched against him.

Giovanni Trombini, a Bologna-based lawyer, described the allegations against his client as “baseless.”

“The accusations against my client are baseless. They are based on information taken from an anonymous Twitter account that writes against the Turkish government,” said Trombini, adding that all financial actions of his client are “transparent.”

His statements came as Italian media reported that Bilal Erdoğan is under investigation in Italy for money laundering in connection to a 2013 corruption scandal that rocked the Turkish political establishment.

The Bologna Public Prosecutor has opened a file on Bilal Erdoğan, 35, alleging that the president’s son brought in large amounts of money to Italy last September to be laundered. The claim was made by Turkish businessman Murat Hakan Uzan, whose brother Cem Uzan founded Turkey’s Youth Party.

Bilal Erdoğan has said he is in Italy with his wife and children purely to resume his PhD studies at the Bologna campus of Washington’s Johns Hopkins University, which he began in 2007. 

In the complaint filed this week with the Bologna prosecutor by Uzan’s lawyer, Massimiliano Annetta, it is claimed that 1 billion is still unaccounted for as a result of the corruption, according to reports.

According to the news agency Ansa, Cavallo is also investigating claims that Bilal Erdoğan arrived in Bologna with an attachment of armed bodyguards who initially were not permitted into Italy until they were issued Turkish diplomatic passports within a few hours.