Turkey’s foreign minister, Cavusoglu, recently said that Russian businessmen, including oligarchs, are welcome if they follow the rules. But according to anti-corruption groups, Turkey should beware of ‘dirty money’. “Since the war, we have seen new hubs for Russian money emerge: Israel, Dubai, and Turkey are certainly one of them,” said Oya Ozarslan of Transparency International. “The dirty money has been expelled from western countries. It is coming here now.”
Turkey risks sanctions
Turkey can use foreign money well, now that the country is in serious economic trouble. But Ozerslan warns against negative consequences in the longer term. “If you let dirty money in, you can’t expect legitimate investors to come in. Nobody wants to invest in dirty money.” Moreover, Turkey risks a reaction from Western countries. “Secondary sanctions may be imposed against countries such as Turkey for not supporting Western sanctions.”
It is not known how much Russian money is currently flowing into Turkey. “There is little financial transparency in Turkey, so we have no figures. I expect that Russians use Turkish intermediaries to make purchases. Turkey imports corruption, while it itself is not doing too well when it comes to corruption.”
Pay in parts
Real estate agent Murat Sarikaya now has Russian-speaking employees for communication with Russian customers. He just sold a $1.5 million luxury condo, but there are problems with the payment. “Because they can’t get all the money here at once, they pay in installments. This is what we’re running into now.”
The Ukrainian sailing team was unable to stop Abramovich’s yacht, but one day she disappeared from Bodrum harbour. It soon became apparent that the port is run by a British company, which must enforce British sanctions.
The Solaris’ has been a few kilometers away for some time now, at another port, in the town of Yalikavak.
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