Report: Turkey Financing Top Global Terror Groups
Turkey becoming world's leading terrorism finance hub
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hamas Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh / AP
BY: Adam Kredo
February 21, 2014 9:00 am
Turkey has become a principal financial hub for terrorists under the
leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government
has helped Iran skirt sanctions, supported jihadi groups in Syria, and
provided financial backing to Hamas, according to a new report by the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
Turkey, a key U.S. ally, "has turned a blind eye" to terror financing
and is potentially on the verge of crossing the line to becoming an
official state sponsor of terrorism, according to the Friday report,
which cites the Erdogan government's close ties to some of the world's
top terror organizations and operatives.
The report comes just a day after 84 U.S. lawmakers and former
government officials urged President Barack Obama to confront Erdogan
over his harsh repression of political opponents.
As Turkey's support for terrorism expands, the Obama administration
has remained silent out of fear of offending Erdogan, whom the White
House considers a strategic asset, according to the report authored by
FDD's Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the
U.S. Treasury Department.
The Obama administration "has remained on the sidelines, expressing
relatively mild concern about the crackdowns on law enforcement
officials and the jailing of journalists, while electing not to
mention terrorism finance issues publicly," the report states.
"Washington's silence stems from fears of a fall-out with Turkey,
which has been a crucial ally over the years, and is situated
strategically at the intersection of Europe and the Middle East,"
according to the report. "But Turkey's actions constitute a direct
challenge to Washington's sanctions regime."
The report catalogues in detail Turkey's cozy relationship with jihadi
groups, terrorist operatives, and the Iranian regime.
Last year, "Turkey was involved in a massive sanctions-busting scheme
with Tehran," according to the report. "Now known as 'gas-for-gold,'
the scheme helped the Iranian regime gain some $13 billion" despite
international sanctions meant to stop such deals.
Additionally, over 2,000 Iranian companies are reportedly registered
in Turkey, where pro-Erdogan political elites have been accused of
facilitating large cash transfers with Tehran.
Turkey's top intelligence agency is also believed to be working with
Iran in a bid to "scuttle intelligence operations" aimed at stopping
Iran's nuke program, according to the report.
Erdogan has also gone to great lengths to bolster extremist rebel
groups in Syria, according to the report, which cites "mounting
evidence suggests that Turkey has been directly or indirectly arming,
training, and even financing Sunni jihadi groups" in the country.
Turkey reportedly sent 47 tons of weapons to Syrian rebels during a
six-month period in 2013, according to the report.
There are "few questions that it has been Turkish policy to provide
support to a range of rebel factions," the report states. "Turkey now
appears to allow a broad spectrum of anti-Assad forces, including
those with radical ideologies, to operate on Turkish territory."
"Jihadi personnel and finances" have been identified as flowing from
Turkey to Syria.
Israeli military officials have additionally claimed that "Syrian al
Qaeda groups were training in three separate bases in the Turkish
provinces."
Erdogan has also been exposed for having a close friendship with Yasin
al-Qadi, a Saudi Arabian businessman who has faced sanctions for his
financial ties to al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and other terrorist
fronts.
Hamas has become another ally of the Erdogan government, which has
held meetings with the terror group's senior leadership and allows one
of its key operative to work in Turkey.
Senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Aruri has been living in Turkey, "where
he has been allegedly involved in the financing and logistics of Hamas
operations," according to the report, which states that "al-Aruri may
be raising funds on Turkish soil that go to support terrorism."
This coincides with "broader Turkish support" for Hamas, including
political cover and financial backing.
Turkey has even inked a $4 billion deal with a Chinese missile firm
that has been sanctioned "multiple times by the U.S. for selling
prohibited missile technology to Iran," according to the report.
Turkey's deal with the controversial China Precision Machinery Import
and Export Corp appears "to be a direct attempt to undermine the
U.S.-led sanctions against Iran," the report states.
The Turkish government's growing ties to terror have come amid a
corruption scandal that has rocked Erdogan's AKP political party,
which has "purged the investigators, prosecutors, and journalists
involved" in exposing the corruption.
FDD's Schanzer warned that left unchecked by the United States and the
rest of the international community, "Turkey's terrorism finance
problems could fester further."
"These problems have already raised questions about whether Turkey
currently serves as a barrier to extremism from the Middle East,"
Schanzer said.
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