Tough times for ruling party: Zarrab case and money transfers to Man Isle issues overlap
AK Party is probably experiencing one of the most distressed times since 2013 when an alleged corruption issue – described as a plot against the government by Ak Parti – was on the agenda of the country; On one side is the Zarrab case, which is continuing in New York, USA and on the other side is the “foreign money transfers” issue that the CHP, opposition party has shared with the public and claims to be illegal.
Regarding the Zarrab (Turkish Iranian gold trader) issue, nobody would think ruling Ak Parti is very pleased with the progress of the case as Zarrab has started talking (confessing) about the illegal transactions and business he was involved in at the time, together with some ministers and high ranking bank officials to violate sanctions (in favor of Iran) imposed by the USA. Therefore a very serious corruption and money laundering as well as violation of US ban on Iran is in question here and the worst part is some Turkish financial establishments may have been involved in this dirty affair – as alleged by US prosecution and confessed by Zarrab so far.
On the other hand regarding money transfers to Man Isle issue, the purpose here is also to weaken the current President’s position which has been a very tough and rather unbeatable opponent for the opposition for the last 15 years, in the political arena. Whether the accusations (that some relations of the president have practiced illegal money transactions abroad) reflect the truth is another issue and certainly needs to be taken to the court. However, the documents presented by the CHP Deputy Chairman Bulent Tezcan to support the allegation, seem to be genuine and if so, the ruling party (and the president) will have to spend an effort to provide some satisfactory explanations to convince the public in search of answers to questions such as “what was the source of those money transfers and on what basis were they made etc.”
All in all, it seems to be tough times for the ruling party and it should not be much of a surprise for Turks to witness some interesting developments (though, not possible to guess what) in politics in the coming days, again.
