Politics
New York Mayor Adams' fundraiser called in federal indictment took money from 'Turkish Trump'
A real estate developer who calls himself “Turkish Trump” was among a group of businessmen who donated money to Mayor Adams' re-election campaign as part of a 2023 fundraiser that is emerging as a focal point in the federal corruption case against the mayor, the Daily News reported. learned.
Mukemmel Sarimsakci, a Turkish-born developer who used Trump's nickname for years and was once involved in a project to build a Trump-branded building hotel in Texascontributed $2,100 — the legal maximum — to Adams as part of the Oct. 9, 2023, fundraiser in Weehawken, New Jersey, an internal campaign document obtained by The News reveals.
Sarimsakci's involvement in fundraising – as a wealthy businessman with ties to the Turkish government and who supervised real estate projects around the world worth hundreds of millions of dollars – highlights how individuals affiliated with Turkish interests seek to boost the campaigns of American politicians, a theme that is at the heart of the mayor's recent corruption indictment.
Last February, after the federal investigation into Adams' ties to Turkey was revealed, The News reported that the Weehawken fundraiser was attended and co-hosted by members of two Turkish interest groups .
Since then, federal prosecutors have indicted Adams on criminal charges, alleging that he solicited bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish government agents in exchange for political favors given to the government Turkey, including helping it resolve security violations at its Manhattan consulate. Adams has pleaded not guilty.
The indictment says the organizers of the Weehawken fundraiser, Turk of America publisher Cemil Ozyurt and public relations representative Cuneyt Gurkan, are “associates” of Reyhan Özgür, Turkey's consul general in New York , who was made aware of the planning of the event.
Sarimsakci's involvement in fundraising for Adams was not mentioned in the indictment or previously known. It is unclear whether Sarimsakci actually attended the rally or whether he only donated as part of it.
While emphasizing that he has no personal knowledge of Sarimsakci's affiliations, Henri Barkey, an expert on Turkish affairs, said businessmen of his caliber have long played a key role in promoting the president's agenda. Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan abroad, notably by financially supporting American politicians.
“Erdogan has significantly expanded his network of businessmen around the world in recent years, and it is individuals like [Sarimsakci] who he usually turns to,” said Barkey, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, before pointing out that Erdogan’s government tightly controls Turkish business sectors. “He gives them contracts, building permits and they help him abroad. They both benefit from this type of relationship.
Federal authorities have not accused Sarimsakci of any wrongdoing. He did not respond to several requests for comment this month.
Sarimsakci – who has participated in the Turkish government's outreach efforts in the United States and owns significant real estate interests in Turkey – made his contribution to Adams in two installments, $100 on September 25, 2023 and $2,000 the next day, according to the city archives.
Although Sarimsakci donated money two weeks before the Weehawken fundraiser, Adams' internal campaign filing obtained by The News indicates his contributions were among nine contributions totaling $9,450 received as part of the 'event.
Subject to the city's campaign finance boardthe document purports to disclose all donations Adams' team received as part of the event.
But The News independently confirmed in February that the fundraiser had indeed raised at least $17,750 from nearly 20 donors. Many contributors whose names were not included in the campaign document are affiliated with the two Turkish interest groups, which go by the acronyms TASC and TACCI.
The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, which is prosecuting Adams, declined to comment this week, as did the CFB.
The Weehawken event, federal authorities allege in Adams' indictment, was one of several campaign fundraisers the mayor attended that were coordinated by Turkish nationals and where “participants agreed to make, and Adams was eager to accept, “straw donations” – contributions illegally funneled by American individuals to disguise the foreign source of the money.
The indictment does not specify whether Sarimsakci's contributions were part of the alleged straw contributions.
Sarimsakci got his start in American real estate in the 1990s when he joined Bechtel, a Virginia construction company, after graduating from a university in Colorado after moving to the United States from Turkey, according to its website. Years later, Sarimsakci founded Alterra, a real estate company with offices in Istanbul that oversaw major residential and commercial projects in Texas and California.
Most of Alterra's commercial transactions, however, are overseas, with various projects in Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Iraq and Niger, according to the firm. website And reports. In Niger, Alterra helped build the country's presidential palace, the website says.
In 2017, Sarimsakci — who publicly I played with the idea to run for the US Senate – makes headlines to be in talks with then-President Donald Trump's company to build a Trump Hotel in Dallas, where Alterra's other deals include building a $142 million luxury apartment building. The hotel deal ultimately fell through.
“Do what you want, go out there and do it,” Sarimsakci said in a 2015 interview when asked what advice he had for young entrepreneurs. “If you team up with the right people…the sky is the limit.” »
Adams' indictment alleges that straw donations were funneled to his campaign from the Weehawken fundraiser after organizers “asked” a businessman, previously identified by The News as Eyup Ulu, to use a “unique” website link to route “foreign donations through U.S. citizens.” » Ulu, owner of an import-export company, got involved because he allowed Gurkan and Ozyurt to hold the fundraiser in a building overlooking the Manhattan skyline where he has an apartment, the report said. indictment.
Adams' indictment cites texts exchanged between his longtime fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, and Rana Abbasova, his Turkish community liaison, the day before the event. Abbasova, who cooperates with the federal government, was recently fired from her job at city hall.
“Are they going to reach the limit? Suggs allegedly sent a text message to Abbasova on October 8, 2023, referencing Gurkan and Ozyurt. “Yes. They said, as agreed, we would raise the $25,000,” replied Abbasova, who accompanied Adams to the fundraiser.
Ulu, Gurkan and Ozyurt did not respond to requests for comment on Sarimsakci's participation in the fundraiser, and neither did Vito Pitta, Adams' campaign lawyer.
Adams' campaign document obtained by The News, which reported a lower amount of money raised than Abbasova and Suggs cited, does not specify whether Sarimsakci was present in person at the Weehawken event.
His donations to Adams are the only ones Sarimsakci is recorded making to a New York political candidate. Records show he has contributed federally to both Democrats and Republicans, including to Trump's 2024 campaign.
Like many others involved in Weehawken fundraising, Sarimsakci's relationship with the Turkish government is linked to interest groups operating in the United States.
A 2019 press release of the Turkish Coalition of America, the main lobbying arm of the Turkish government in the United States, cites Sarimsakci as a “silver sponsor” of the organization's annual youth leadership conference in Washington, DC. Sarimsakci is also a board member of the EastWest Institute, a think tank that has hosted Erdogan for speaking engagements in the United States.
In 2017, Sarimsakci was the moderator of a real estate panel at a conference in Manhattan organized by the Association of Independent Industrialists and Businessmen, a pro-Erdogan organization. commercial group which frequently hosts events featuring the Turkish leader around the world.
Adams, who was Brooklyn borough president at the time, also attended the 2017 event. There he delivered remarks such as a “keynote” speaker alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci.
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