Eric Adams’ ties to Turkey: travel, donations and a meeting with Erdogan

A major federal corruption investigation into Mayor Eric Adams’ fundraising efforts is examining whether his campaign colluded with members of the Turkish government to receive illegal donations.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat in his second year in office, has longstanding ties to Turkey. The mayor has said he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when he was Brooklyn borough president and has visited the country at least six times.

Now federal prosecutors and the FBI are investigating Mr. Adams’s connections to Turkey, including whether he pressured city officials to sign off on the Turkish government’s new consulate building in Manhattan and the role of a Turkish-owned construction company in Brooklyn. immigrants, that a fund organized an event for him.

Federal authorities raided the home of Mr. Adams’s top fundraiser on Nov. 2 and subsequently seized at least two cellphones and an iPad belonging to Mr. Adams himself. Mr. Adams has defended his ties with Turkey, arguing they were part of his outreach to immigrant communities that have not always received attention from City Hall.

Here’s what we know about the mayor’s Turkish connections.

Thousands of dollars from donors linked to Turkey

Mr. Adams has received campaign donations from Turkish immigrants and from people associated with prominent Turkish groups aligned with Mr. Erdogan, a conservative leader who came to power in 2014.

Federal authorities are investigating donations from people linked to KSK Construction, which is owned by Turkish immigrants, and Bay Atlantic University in Washington, D.C., which was founded by a Turkish philanthropist, according to a search warrant reviewed by The New York Times.

KSK Construction CEO Erden Arkan donated $1,500 to Adams’ 2021 campaign, and 10 other company employees made donations, campaign documents show.

The Adams campaign received a total of $10,000 in contributions from five Bay Atlantic University employees on September 27, 2021, a week after the unveiling of the new consulate building in Manhattan, and returned the donations the following month.

The mayor’s campaign also received donations from people associated with the Turks Foundation and the Turkish-American National Steering Committee, two groups linked to Mr. Erdogan.

Turks Foundation President Behram Turan donated $3,000 to the Adams campaign in 2018, of which $1,000 was returned. The group’s treasurer, Memis Yetim, donated $1,000 in 2021 with the address “Staten Island, New Jersey.”

A former treasurer of the Turkish American National Steering Committee, Murat Guzel, donated $10,100 to the Adams campaign in 2018 and was reimbursed $8,100. Another steering committee member, Ayhan Ogmen, gave the Adams campaign $2,500 that year and was reimbursed $500. He then donated $2,100 to the mayor’s 2025 re-election campaign last June.

A close relationship with the Turkish consulate

Mr Adams has a close relationship with the Turkish Consulate General, which paid for part of his trip to Turkey in 2015.

Over the past four years, the Turkish consulate has posted more than 20 photos and videos featuring Mr. Adams on social media.

Among the events it has posted about are Turkish Heritage Daywhich Mr. Adams celebrated on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall in 2019.

He had breakfast in 2021 with Hasan Murat Mercan, the Turkish ambassador to the United States, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the son of Turkish immigrants and eventual Republican Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, This is evident from a message from the consulate.

And he toured the new consulate building, Turkevi Center, shortly after he was elected mayor in November 2021.

The opening of the Turkevi Center is now part of the federal investigation. In late summer 2021, Mr. Adams contacted then-Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro and urged him to allow the Turkish government to at least temporarily occupy the building, despite concerns about the building safety.

Mr. Adams has defended his intervention in the center’s opening, saying he was involved because of his role as Brooklyn borough president, even though the building is in Manhattan. “Part of my routine role has been to inform government agencies about issues on behalf of voters and constituencies,” he said in a statement.

As mayor, Mr. Adams continued to meet the Turkish Consul General often, including on Gracie mansion And City Hall.

A meeting with the Turkish president

Mr. Adams said at a recent news conference that he met Mr. Erdogan at a dinner for a nonprofit group when he was city president, a position he held from 2014 to 2021.

Mr Erdogan has left a conservative mark on Turkish society and has been criticized for his authoritarian approach.

“He greeted me and said hello,” Mr. Adams said. “We exchanged pleasantries.”

The mayor’s top spokesman, Fabien Levy, and an adviser to his campaign, Evan Thies, declined to say when the dinner took place or which nonprofit organized it.

Regularly travel to Turkey

Mr. Adams said in a radio interview in February that he had been to Turkey “six or seven times.” Three of those trips have been made public.

According to financial records, the Turkish Consulate in New York paid for Mr. Adams’ airfare, hotel and ground transportation for a trip to Turkey in August 2015.

While there, Mr. Adams signed a sister city agreement with Istanbul’s Uskudar Municipality, and visited Bahcesehir University, which was founded by the same Turkish philanthropist who founded Bay Atlantic University.

Another trip months later, in December 2015, was partially paid for by a group called the Association of Young Tourism Leaders, This is reported by news channel The City.

In 2017, Mr Adams visited Turkey again with his son Jordan Coleman, as part of a ‘spiritual’ trip that included stops in France, China and Sri Lanka. according to Politico.

Mr. Adams has said he enjoys international travel, noting at the news conference that he had been to countries in Africa seven times and China six times.

He said it was important to understand the Turkish community because New York City is home to one of the largest Turkish populations in the United States.

“We just thought it was a great opportunity to exchange ideas, as we do with all these countries, and we want to attract businesses here,” he said.

Mr. Levy and Mr. Thies declined to provide details of the mayor’s travels.

Flag raising events in honor of Turkey

As mayor, Mr. Adams has organized two flag-raising events for Turkey — part of his tradition of raising the flags of dozens of countries, which he says is intended to honor New York’s immigrant communities.

At the first flag-raising for Turkey, held last October, Mr. Adams called New York City “the Istanbul of America” and referred to the Turkish Consul General, Reyhan Özgür, as “my good friend.”

Last month, Mr Adams raised the country’s flag for the second time. He provided a formal citation to Aliriza Dogan, a Turkish immigrant who runs a restaurant in Manhattan, and praised his contributions to the city. Mr. Dogan has also donated to the mayor’s campaign.