Fraud claims in Germany extend as far as Turkey’s conservative media

The claims in the case against the charity, “Deniz Feneri” (Lighthouse in English), reached as far as the head of Turkey’s media watchdog, Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK), who was a former executive of an Islamist media organ.

An executive from the charity and the charity’s accountant appearing before the German court told that donated funds were transferred to Turkish conservative media organs, Turkey’s Hurriyet daily reported.

“I understand that you financed Kanal 7 with the revenue from the Deniz Feneri Charity. The money was used here because the company (Kanal 7) was struggling to survive. Kanal 7 TV channel, Media GmbH and Yeni Safak daily are each media organs. Every media organ has an aim. What aim do these media organs have?” the judge asked charity accountant Firdevsi Ermis.

Ermis declined to answer the question directly but said the people in question were from “conservative circles”.

RTUK CHAIRMAN INVOLVED IN CLAIMS
He said five people, including RTUK Chairman Zahid Akman, were paid 32,000 euros per month as a shareholder of Weiss GmbH, a fake company formed in Germany. Huge amounts of money were also paid to Akman directly, he added.

Weiss Gmbh is like hidden cash box of Deniz Feneri, and there have been money transfers between Beyaz Holding and Weiss GmbH (Beyaz in Turkish, Weiss in German both mean White in English), Ermis and Mehmet Taksan, another executive of the charity, told before the court.

Beyaz Holding was founded in 1998, and includes Beyaz Iletisim C.O., which was founded by Akman.

Taksan also said he personally delivered a cash sum of 200,000 euros to the Kanal 7 building in Turkey.

Seven million euros were transferred from Deniz Feneri Germany to the charity’s offices in Turkey.

The executive boards of Beyaz Holding and Kanal 7 consist of almost the same members, media reports said. These people are also among the five, claimed to have been paid 32,000 euros per month.

Akman turned over his shares after he appointed was head of RTUK, but still he continues to be a partner of the holding unofficially, the suspects told the court.

Kanal 7 belonged to YIMPAS, a holding that was known for its connections to Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Yeni Safak is also a pro-AKP newspaper published in Turkey.

Turkey's ruling AKP has been under fire from its opponents, who accuse the government of promoting and supporting Islamist media organs to create a media which indirectly belonged to the party.

Deniz Feneri was established in 1997 and has been operating in Germany since 1999.

The German police raid of the Deniz Feneri and Kanal 7 offices in Frankfurt after allegations of fraud and money laundering were raised last year. Some officials were arrested by police after the raid.

Trials in the case have been continuing for four days.