‘First stop Istanbul’: Mayor Eric Adams accused of taking bribes to do Turkey’s bidding in New York City

New York City mayor Eric Adams threatened to fire a city employee if he did not certify that Turkey’s Turkevi Center near UN headquarters met safety standards, and refused to comment on the Armenian genocide in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of campaign donations and free flights, federal prosecutors say.

The explosive allegations are part of a 57-page indictment unsealed on Thursday which make Adams the first mayor in modern New York City history to be criminally charged. The crimes include wire fraud, soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations and bribery conspiracy.

The unsealed indictment spans from 2015 to 2024 and alleges that Adams took bribes, committed wire fraud and received illegal campaign donations in several different forms, and from at least one Turkish government official from 2021-2022.

A Turkish entrepreneur – referred to as “The Promoter” in the indictment –  allegedly helped to arrange a heavily discounted stay in 2017 at the St Regis Hotel in Istanbul, owned by a wealthy Turkish businesswoman who is accused of seeking “to ingratiate herself with Adams”.

“As Adams’s prominence and power grew, his foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when, in 2021, it became clear that Adams would become New York City’s mayor,” the indictment said.

Adams is said to have reaped more than $100,000 worth of “freebies”. 

Prosecutors say Adams enjoyed free or discounted trips on airlines and stays at luxury hotels, thanks to his contacts who also poured thousands of dollars into his mayoral election campaigns.

Once Adams’ was elected mayor in 2021, he is alleged to have paid back those perks by aiding Turkey through its diplomatic presence in Manhattan and defending its interests.  

Prosecutors say a senior Turkish official provided illegal campaign contributions to Adams and facilitated the free or discounted travel on Turkish Airlines to destinations including France, China, Sri Lanka and Turkey. The Turkish government owns 49.12 percent of Turkish Airlines.

“The Turkish Official and other Turkish nationals further arranged for Adams and his companions to receive, among other things, free rooms at opulent hotels, free meals at high-end restaurants, and free luxurious entertainment while in Turkey,” the indictment says. 

Adams rejected the indictment. “I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defence before making any judgments,” he said. “From here my attorneys will take care of the case so I can take care of the city.”

Turkish House

The senior Turkish official called in a quid pro quo from Adams after he was elected.

In September 2021, the official asked Adams to facilitate the opening of the 36-story Turkevi Center, or Turkish House, across from the United Nations, saying now it was “his (Adams) turn” to support Turkey,

The Turkish government building serves as the headquarters of multiple Turkish diplomatic missions, including the Turkish consulate, and contains space for residences as well as event space. 

In 2021, the Turkish consulate was working to ensure the building was finished ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to New York City in September but was having trouble passing building inspection.

According to the indictment, pressure from Adams started in 2021. He told the New York Fire Department official responsible for the skyscraper inspection that he could lose his job if he did not certify the building met New York City’s code, which he did certify. At the time, prosecutors said the building would have failed inspection.

Adams is alleged to have continued receiving benefits from his Turkish contacts after his 2021 election. 

Gulenists and free-flights 

The indictment says that Adams went to great lengths to mask his foreign relationships and donors. The senior Turkish official and others used “nominee” or “straw” campaign contributions, in which they would pass their funds to Adams’ campaign via second parties who falsely claimed they were contributing their own money.

Adams was elected mayor in 2021, but the indictment paints a picture of a local New York City politician who cultivated and enjoyed good ties to Turkish government officials and insiders years before he assumed office.

Adams travelled to Turkey twice in 2015 when he was the Brooklyn Borough president. Those trips were disclosed as required by law, but prosecutors say they laid the foundation for “corrupt relationships” that Adams would exploit going forward.

During the visit, Adams made contact with a Turkish entrepreneur prosecutors dubbed “The Promoter” whose business includes networking between politicians and celebrities. He was also introduced to a Turkish entrepreneur who owned “a Turkish University”, an Istanbul-based for-profit educational conglomerate well as the owner of the St Regis Hotel in Istanbul.

During the 2015 trips, Adams also moved closer to a Brooklyn borough volunteer who he would later name his “Liaison to Eastern Europe Muslim Countries”, including Turkey. The unnamed volunteer was promoted to a paid staffer when Adams was elected mayor and coordinated illegal campaign contributions, according to prosecutors.

After the 2015 Istanbul visits, Adams began cashing in on corrupt travel, prosecutors say.

In one case, dating back to 2016, Adams and his partner were travelling to India on roughly $2,286 worth of economy-class seats with Turkish Airlines. Those tickets were upgraded to business class at no cost. The tickets would have cost approximately $15,000 in total.

At the same time, the Turkish official is said to have started calling in favours from Adams. He warned Adams not to associate with a community centre in Brooklyn that he claimed was linked to a political movement hostile to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. 

The indictment does not name the organisation, but the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Sheepshead Bay is home to a tight-knit Turkish community with a cultural centre reportedly close to exiled Turkish imam, Fethullah Gulen, who Erdogan accused of orchestrating a 2016 failed coup against him.

The imam has been a source of tension for Turkey, as the US has refused to extradite the 83-year-old who lives in Pennsylvania. 

St Regis stay

In 2017, Adams accepted $35,000 worth of free Turkish Airlines tickets for himself and his friends as they jetted between France, Turkey, Colombia, and China. Prosecutors say that because the flights were free, Adams even travelled with the airline when it was inconvenient, texting his partner at one time: “You know first stop is always Istanbul”.

But Adams reportedly enjoyed a plush lifestyle in the city, bankrolled by Turkish businesspeople. During the summer of 2017, he stayed at the St Regis Hotel in the upscale neighbourhood of Nisantasi, paying just $600 for a two-night stay at a suite that would normally cost $7,000.

In 2018, Adams started leaning on the senior Turkish official, the Promoter, and a Turkish Airlines manager for campaign donations when he was eyeing New York’s mayorship. The prosecutors paint a picture of a cynical and ruthless politician. In one text, Adams told a supporter, ”You win the race by raising money. Have to raise money. Everything else is fluff.”

In text messages obtained by prosecutors, an Adams staffer goes back and forth with the Promoter about raising funds. The Promoter offers to make a donation through an American citizen in the US, “a Turk” to whom he will give cash in Turkey or directly to an American citizen.

The staffer expressed doubt that Adams would agree to the plan, saying, “They might cause a big stink later on…but I’ll ask anyway”. The Promoter said he could raise $100,000, and prosecutors allege that Adams instructed his staff to pursue the scheme.

As the mayoral race was underway in 2021, the senior Turkish government official arranged for what prosecutors say was “a prominent member of New York City’s Turkish community” to make “straw” donations to Adams on behalf of the official.

‘Done’ the Bosporus boat tour 

During a November 2021 layover in Istanbul, he received special treatment including an escort at the airport gate, a chauffeured luxury vehicle dubbed “BMW 7” and dinner at a high-end restaurant that included drinks with the Turkish official.

Adams was also offered a luxury Bosporous cruise but turned it down, with his staffer explaining that Adams had “done the boat tour a few times”.

The Turkish official clarified to Adams’ staffer that his offer was different. “Don’t let [the airline manager] and others confuse [Adams]. We are the state.”

Adams continued to take, and abide, by requests from the senior Turkish official after intervening on the Turkish House. In April 2022, the official reminded Adams’ staffer that the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day was approaching, and asked for a pledge that Adams would not comment on the Ottoman era killing of 1 million Armenian Christians. Adams did not comment. 

In 2023, Adams started raising illegal funds from Turkish donors for his re-election campaign, prosecutors say.

In September 2023, Adams attended an event at a New York City hotel organised by the senior Turkish official and his campaign staff, where he met donors who had provided illegal contributions to his campaign through “straw” contributors.

Most of the attendees were foreign donors. Adams’ campaign said he raised $22,800 from attendees before the event.