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 Republican People’s Party (CHP) statement that millions of dollars flowed between Erdoğan's close circle and an offshore company, state-run Anadolu news agency has reported.
In November, parliamentary main opposition CHP party said Erdoğan’s family members had sent cash to an offshore bank account in the tax-free British jurisdiction of Isle of Man.
The Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office verified the veracity of the banking documents submitted by the party, but said in its ruling that the relevant transactions were not a part of a money laundering crime. Pro-government media and ruling party members had claimed that the documents were a product of a collaboration between the CHP and Turkish AKP government former ally Gülen religious sect.
Erdoğan's son Burak Erdoğan, brother Mustafa Erdoğan, brothers-in-law Ziya İlgen and Osman Ketenci and personal assistant Mustafa Gündoğan received $15 million, according to the bank receipts shared by CHP's leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Prosecutor’s office did not investigate the source of money, or the nature of the transfer.
"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.
"WHAT THIS PERSON SAYS IS A LIE"
Turkey's parliamentary main opposition CHP party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Tuesday revealed that President Tayyip Erdoğan's family - including his brother, his son and his executive assistant – made transactions worth around $15 million to an off-shore company called Bellway Limited in the tax haven Isle of Man in December 2011 and January 2012.
In response, Erdoğan claimed that no money had been sent abroad "instead money was sent to these people as they had sold their companies". "There isn't a single penny that has gone abroad. What this person says is a lie," he said.
In November, Turkish parliament, which is dominated by the ruling party members, rejected an opposition motion for an inquiry into allegations that Erdogan's family members have evaded taxes by transferring millions of dollars to off-shore accounts.
