The construction company at the center of kickback allegations against New York Mayor Eric Adams received millions of dollars in financing directly from the Turkish government, it has been revealed.
Adams has been under intense scrutiny since last week when the FBI raided the Brooklyn home of his chief fundraiser Briana Suggs, 25, over a series of alleged donations to the mayor’s 2021 mayoral campaign from KSK Construction.
KSK Co-owner Erden Arkan raised almost $70,000 at a fundraiser for Adams in May 2021 as the company won a host of development contracts across the city.
It has emerged the firm and its affiliates secured at least $14.9million in loans and a $7.4million line of credit for its New York purchases from Vakiflar Bankasi, a bank almost wholly owned by the Turkish government.
The Democrat mayor has distanced himself from the Williamsburg-based construction company insisting he has not had any association with it ‘to my knowledge.’
NYC Mayor Eric Adams has been under intense scrutiny since last week when the FBI raided the Brooklyn home of his chief fundraiser Briana Suggs , 25, over a series of alleged donations to the mayor’s 2021 mayoral campaign from KSK Construction.
Erden Arkan (left), the globe-trotting 74-year-old owner of KSK Construction Group with colleagues at a Manhattan development
The government of Turkey’s Recep Erdoğan funneled millions of dollars to KSK as it won a host of construction contracts across New York’s five boroughs
‘I am not familiar with this organization at all,’ Adams said this week.
‘It’s one of the many different groups and organizations that contributes to the campaign.’
But it is near identical donations of around $1,250 to Adams’ campaign by 11 KSK employees on the same day in 2021 which has given rise to allegations that ‘straw donors’ were being used to disguise the origin of the money, and is thought to have attracted the interest of the FBI.
The Turkish bank has lent money to the company for more than a decade, the Daily Beast reported, as well as numerous directors and subsidiaries associated with it.
According to the bank’s website, Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, operated by the government of president Recep Erdoğan, controls almost three-quarters of the bank’s shares, while the country’s Ministry of Finance and Treasury holds a near 15 percent stake.
Adams revealed yesterday that he had been in contact with Suggs since the raid on her home.
‘I have communicated with her since this incident took place’, Adams said, noting that his legal team was also in touch with her.
The FBI seized phones, laptops and documents as part of their investigation into Adams’ 2021 campaign.
Arkan, 74, the co-owner of KSK Construction Group, pictured enjoying a lavish vacation with his educator wife, Itir
A June 2022 post of Erden sitting regally atop a marble throne in the archaeological site of Aphrodisia in Turkey, which his wife captioned: ‘#Theking #andhisserf’
In a strange twist, it emerged on Friday a welfare check had been requested for Suggs’ home on Wednesday night – just hours before the FBI dawn raid.
Currently, no charges have been filed against KSK, Adams, Suggs, or anyone else involved in the case.
Records show Arkan was also an ardent personal supporter of Adams, donating $1,500 to the former cop’s 2021 campaign.
Despite the ongoing investigation, Mayor Adams has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and expressed confidence in Suggs who managed to raise $18 million for his campaign in 2021.
He emphasized that his campaign would fully cooperate with the investigation.
‘Where there’s smoke, there’s not always fire,’ Adams said. ‘She [Suggs] has done an amazing job.’
When news of the raid broke, Mayor Adams was about to embark on a series of meetings with other big city mayors in Washington, D.C.
He hurriedly returned to New York abandoning the meetings.
‘I was notified by our team that something was taking place with the campaign staffer, and I wanted to be here to make sure we fully complied. I have one of the best compliance teams that any campaign has ever put together,’ Adams said.
Agents searched the home of Brianna Suggs (left), a campaign consultant and one of his primary fundraisers. In a television interview, Adams said he believed there was no wrongdoing in his 2021 campaign, declaring: ‘Sometimes there is smoke without fire’
Suggs is the latest Adams associate – and one of several people involved in his fundraising activity – to face legal trouble in recent months.
In July, six people were charged in a straw donor conspiracy scheme to divert tens of thousands of dollars to Adams’ campaign.
The former city buildings commissioner under Adams, Eric Ulrich, was also charged in September for using his position to dole out favors, including access to the mayor, in exchange for cash and other bribes. Ulrich and his six co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Adams has distanced himself from both cases, which were brought in state court and did not directly implicate his campaign or administration.