Gül orders audits of local charities

The scandalous corruption case that erupted in Germany involving a charity foundation with links to Turkey has prompted the Turkish president to take action on the inspection of charities.

President Abdullah Gül has asked for the State Auditing Commission, or DDK, to revise legal regulations for charity organizations, reported daily Hurriyet yesterday. The DDK serves under the authority of the president.

Behind the move lies the repercussions of the corruption scandal surrounding the Islamic charity organization, Lighthouse e.V., which disturbed the public conscience and received widespread media coverage in Turkey over the past few months. The German court revealed the foundation collected donations from Turks living in Germany and, using couriers between 2002 and 2007, illegally transferred 17 million euros of an overall 41 million euros in donations to Turkey, including to a company owned by pro-government Kanal 7 television channel.

The Deniz Feneri (Lighthouse) Foundation, a charity organization based in Turkey with no official links to Lighthouse e.V. in Germany, also received 8 million euros of the transferred money. German jurists portrayed Zahid Akman, the president of the Supreme Board of Radio and Television, or RT?K, as a courier for the German foundation. Akman was the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, nominee for the RT?K presidency. There were also allegations of a link between the foundation and the AKP. Critics and political parties have accused the AKP of protecting accomplices in the Lighthouse e.V. case.

The latest in a series of such accusations came in September from a deputy in the main opposition party, Akif Hamza?elebi, who said the government had tried to hinder further examination of the links between Kanal 7 and Lighthouse e.V. Hamza?elebi, of the Republican People's Party, or CHP, urged the DDK to launch a probe into Kanal 7's accounts.

Following the call, Gül discussed the issue with his officials and said it would be more appropriate to wait until the stormy discussions about the Lighthouse case has passed so more timely action could be taken.

He then instructed the DDK to schedule a revision of the regulations regarding charity organizations into its 2009 calendar.

The DDK will thus include this revision in its 2009 agenda in a meeting to be held in the second week of December, where the deficiencies and negative elements of the system that regulates charity foundations will be discussed. The DDK will then prepare a report for related institutions.

Charity organizations are currently being inspected at least every two years. The Interior Ministry is authorized to dismiss personnel or members who work for the organizations as a temporary precaution, if faults alleged against them are proven valid upon investigation.