A revelation by a regime insider has shed light on how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has amassed billions of dollars in family wealth during his two-decade rule, which has been marked by rampant corruption in his administration.
Ali Yeşildağ, a long-time member of a gang that helped run corrupt schemes on behalf of Erdogan, revealed in a video posted on YouTube on May 5, 2023 that Erdogan, then prime minister, pocketed $1 billion in a kickback scheme from an airport management tender back in 2007.
The money was given to Erdogan by Turkish businessman İbrahim Çeçen, who fraudulently won the government tender for the operating rights of Antalya Airport for his company İçtaş, part of İbrahim Çeçen Yatırım Holding (IC Holding), which participated in the tender with its German partner Fraport AG.
Çelebi Holding, which had been operating Antalya Airport, Turkey’s second largest, until it was put up for bid to renew the contract on April 12, 2007, was fraudulently excluded from the tender by the State Airports Management General Directorate (DHMİ). Yeşildağ, who was intimately involved in the tender, disclosed previously unknown details about how Çelebi was prohibited from competing in order to award the contract to the İçtaş-Fraport joint venture.
Yeşildağ was hired by Canan Çelebioğlu, the president of Çelebi Holding, through a friend named Enis, who promised him $30 million in consultation fees if Yeşildağ could secure the renewal of contract for another 15 years for the holding, using his contacts with Erdogan. As the Turkish airport ground services provider, Çelebi was a reputable firm that was operating other airports in Turkey as well.
Erdogan’s much-rumored secret accounts in Swiss banks had already been reported by the US Embassy in Ankara in a cable to Washington. The diplomatic cable was leaked by Wikileaks in November 2010.
Source: Abdullah Bozkurt - The Nordic Monitor