Erdogan’s Son Caught with Al-Qaeda Financier

[Valin]

The Feed:

1/7/14

 

Turkeys political crisis took a dark turn this week. Photos of Prime Minister Erdoğans son meeting a suspected al-Qaeda financier in an Istanbul hotel were leaked to the press. The photos allegedly show Bilal Erdoğan meeting Saudi Arabian businessman Yasin al-Qadi, whom the US blacklisted in April 2013 as an al-Qaeda funder. According to media reports, Qadi, who visits Turkey frequently and was escorted by the Prime Ministers security men, met Bilal to discuss a deal for a juicy piece of real estate worth $1 billion in Istanbuls Etiler neighborhood. The land was to be sold to investors, without public bidding, for half that price. If these reports hold any water, Erdoğan could be in serious trouble.

 

Qadis relationship with Turkey and the Erdoğan family goes back a few years. In 2004 the Wall Street Journal * uncovered transactions worth more than $1 million between Qadi and Maram, a Turkish front company that funded terrorists in Yemen. Associates of Qadis, including managers at Maram, are known funders and founders of al-Qaeda. Qadi has frequently and vehemently denied the accusations and spent a lot of money trying to clear his name. But at the very least, his dealings in Turkey are suspicious. According to opposition lawmakers, his presence in the country is illegal.

 

To Prime Minister Erdoğan and his family, however, a meeting with Qadi is nothing out of the ordinary. Erdoğan told Turkish media that Qadi is a family friend, as Ilhan Tanir, a Turkish journalist for Vatan, wrote on Twitter. Prosecutors in Istanbul were following Qadi during the investigation into the Etiler property, which has not been sold and still belongs to the public. The National reports:

 

Mr Al Qadi was on a list of names due to be arrested in a second wave of arrests as part of investigations into several corruption cases.

 

 

 

* Behind Paywall