1 - Commentary
Another Major Erdogan Corruption Scandal;
This time on US Soil
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Pashinyan Resigns Paving Way for Snap Parliamentary Elections
3- Forever Silenced: Saudia Arabia Says Journalist Khashoggi ‘Murdered’
4 - Shuttered Lens: Legendary Turkish-Armenian Photographer Ara
Guler Dies
5 - Pashinyan, Aliyev Establish ‘Operative’ Ties
6- Armenia confirms participation in Eurovision 2019
7- Veratartz Hayrenik: Knights and Daughters of Vartan
Makes Historic Visit to Armenia
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1 - Another Major Erdogan Corruption Scandal;
This time on US Soil
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Not a week passes without the disclosure of another major scandal in
Azerbaijan or Turkey. The latest such scandal was exposed by the
Stockholm Center for Freedom in an article written by exiled Turkish
writer Abdullah Bozkurt, titled: “Utah case exposes more dirt on
Turkey’s Erdogan.”
The article reveals that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
corrupt tentacles reach into the United States, which makes the
subject of this scandal of particular interest to Special Counsel
Robert Mueller in connection with his Russia probe and “international
organized crime network,” according to Bozkurt.
“A federal grand jury in Utah returned a sealed indictment on Aug. 1,
2018, naming Erdogan as the leader of a foreign country who met with
highly controversial businesspeople in California and Utah in what was
claimed to be a major money laundering and tax fraud case,” Bozkurt
reported.
The indictment, unsealed on Aug. 24, 2018, charged that “Jacob Ortell
Kingston, the chief executive officer, and Isaiah Kingston, the chief
financial officer of Washakie Renewable Energy (WRE), by filing false
claims for tax credits, obtained over $511 million in renewable fuel
tax credits that were designed to increase the amount of renewable
fuel used and produced in the United States. Lev Aslan Dermen (Levon
Termendzhyan), owner of California-based fuel company NOIL Energy
Group with links to a transnational criminal enterprise, is also
identified as a partner in this grand scheme. From 2010 through 2016,
they fabricated documents and rotated products within the US as well
as overseas to make it appear that they were engaging in real trade to
qualify for the tax credits,” Bozkurt wrote.
The indictment stated that Jacob Kingston was arrested on Aug. 23,
2018, while on his way to Salt Lake City international airport headed
to Turkey after he was tipped off. Bozkurt reported: “The Kingstons
had already bought a luxury mansion in a seaside town in Turkey
according to a wire transfer from a WRE account to Termendzhyan’s
account at Turkey’s Garanti Bank on March 5, 2014. More wire transfers
to Turkey were listed in the indictment. Jacob Kingston, who
frequently traveled to Turkey to meet with top Turkish officials
including Erdogan, was often greeted like a VIP at the Turkish
airport, was provided a police escort and did not even use his
passport to enter Turkey according to witness testimony in the U.S.
indictment.”
Jacob Kingston first met Erdogan in New York in September 2017 when
the Turkish President came to the United States to attend the UN
General Assembly. This meeting took place “after FBI raided the
Kingston group’s properties on Feb. 10, 2016, and the revelations of
the fuel tax scam had already made the headlines in Utah,” according
to Bozkurt.
“In early November 2017, Jacob flew to Turkey to hold a series of
high-level meetings in both Ankara and Istanbul. He tapped Sezgin
Baran Korkmaz, the chairman of SBK Holding LLC, as the main conduit in
Turkey, while he kept a separate investment and asset management firm,
Mega Varlık Yönetim A.Ş., which was set up with equity of $450 million
in Turkey,” Bozkurt wrote.
“Termendzhyan also has a company named SBK Holdings USA, which is a
sister company to Korkmaz’s SBK Holding LLC in Turkey. Korkmaz was
quoted as telling the Turkish press that his partnership with WRE has
resulted in an investment valued at $1 billion and thanked Erdogan for
personally facilitating the business deals. According to the press
release issued on Sept. 9, 2016, by the Turkish government’s
Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT), WRE, the Noil Energy
Group and SBK Holding LLC have made significant investments in Turkey
and planned to do more. The partnership with SBK Holding began in 2013
with Noil Energy making the first batch of investments in real estate.
Construction and real estate businesses comprise the prime source for
ill-gotten proceeds for Erdogan’s massive multi-billion-dollar wealth.
The total investment reached $500 million with another half million
dollars assigned to a Mergers and Acquisitions fund for operations in
Turkey. The trio has made investments in all types of sectors
including pharmaceuticals, automotive, chemicals, technology, glass,
and food,” according to Bozkurt.
“With Erdogan’s political backing and cover, SBK Holding has expanded
its operations into various areas including finance, energy, real
estate, defense, mining, industry, tourism, technology, and logistics.
The company is mainly active in the finance industry through
investment banking, asset management, and raw materials financing. It
also has substantial interests in the energy sector that span both the
US and Russian markets. Erdogan was not bothered at all by the fact
that Termendzhyan was already implicated in a major probe that was
being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security for money
laundering, tax evasion, and stolen oil. Edgar Sargsyan, the
ex-president and former legal counsel for SBK Holdings USA, stated in
his declaration filed in court on July 14, 2017, that Termendzhyan, a
Russian [Armenian], is the head of a criminal organization. It is
worth remembering that he was arrested in 1993 for a gas tax scam in
the US, where the Russian mafia was known to have been actively
involved in similar scams in the ‘80s and ‘90s. He was also charged
with tax fraud and armed assault in the past and was convicted of
battery in 2013,” Bozkurt reported.
Interestingly, “Korkmaz appears to be the main conduit linking the
Kingstons and Termendzhyan to pro-Erdogan businessman Ekim Alptekin,
whose Dutch shell company Inovo BV hired former national security
advisor Mike Flynn’s Flynn Intel Group to run a smear campaign and
defame Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based cleric who emerged
as the main critic of the Erdogan regime. Flynn tapped former CIA
director James Woolsey to do the work against Gülen in a meeting held
with Korkmaz in California in August 2016. Woolsey and his wife had a
meeting with both Korkmaz and Alptekin in New York City on Sept. 20,
2016, to discuss the proposal. On Sept. 19, 2016, Flynn met with
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the foreign minister of Turkey, and Berat Albayrak,
Erdogan’s son-in-law who is also a minister in his cabinet, to discuss
another proposal to kidnap Gülen and whisk him away from U.S. soil to
Turkey. Two months later, on Nov. 8, 2016, Flynn published a poorly
written, derogatory op-ed on The Hill news website about Gülen, which
many suspected was penned by Turkish operatives, not Flynn. Flynn
later admitted to making false statements including lying about the
fact that Turkish government officials were supervising and directing
the work. He also misrepresented his lobbying on behalf of the Erdogan
government and lied about the op-ed he published on The Hill website,”
Bozkurt wrote.
Alptekin fled to Turkey after he was interviewed by the Mueller team
in May 2017 and dodged the subpoena that was subsequently issued after
investigators concluded that he had lied to them. Korkmaz was also
ordered to testify before a grand jury in Washington on Sept. 22,
2017, over possible violations of federal criminal laws including the
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). He also did not comply with
this subpoena. “It was believed that money in the amount of some
$450,000 that Alptekin’s Dutch shell company paid to Flynn, in fact,
came from Korkmaz. The Utah indictment reveals that Termendzhyan fled
to Turkey in August 2017 on the day state search warrants were
executed on his home and office,” Bozkurt revealed.
“If there was an independent judiciary in Turkey, this would have been
addressed first and foremost by the Turkish criminal justice system,
and Erdogan would have been forced to leave office in disgrace, at the
very least. Most likely he and his thugs would have been sentenced to
prison for breaking about a dozen Turkish laws. That is no longer
possible since the corrupt Turkish president has crippled the
judiciary, destroyed the independent media and suspended the rule of
law in the aftermath of a major graft investigation in December 2013
that uncovered his corrupt practices involving highly controversial
Iranian and Saudi businesspeople. Now we see U.S. judicial action on
Erdogan’s crimes that extended all the way to American soil. This time
he won’t have the political clout to cash in to derail or hush up the
legal cases that implicate him. He unsuccessfully tried before in the
Hakan Atilla case in New York, and he will likely suffer the same fate
in the Utah case as well,” Bozkurt concluded.
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2- Pashinyan Resigns Paving Way for Snap Parliamentary Elections
YEREVAN—In a live televised address to the nation on Tuesday, October
16, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan offered his resignation paving the
way for snap parliamentary elections, which he hopes will take place
in early December.
President Armen Sarkissian accepted the resignation of the cabinet,
according the presidential press service.
“I am resigning today as Prime Minister of Armenia. The goal of this
resignation, however, is not to distance myself from the office of
Prime Minister—meaning not to escape from the responsibility that I
have assumed before you. On the contrary, it is to bring the
nonviolent, velvet, people’s revolution that we together carried out
to an end, through holding early elections of parliament and returning
the entire power to the people,” said Pashinyan.
The roadmap for achieving early elections of parliament is: after the
prime minister’s resignation is accepted by the president, the
National Assembly must twice vote and twice not elect a prime minister
during the subsequent 14 days—which results in the National Assembly
being dissolved and the President of the Republic calling for early
(“snap”) elections of parliament.
The HHK, Tsarukyan bloc and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF) publicly stated they would not nominate a candidate for prime
minister or elect a prime minister.
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3 - Forever Silenced: Saudia Arabia Says Journalist Khashoggi ‘Murdered’
(BBC, The Guardian)—Saudi Arabia has blamed the killing of journalist
Jamal Khashoggi on a “rogue operation”, giving a new account of an act
that sparked a global outcry. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox
News “the murder” had been a “tremendous mistake” and denied the
powerful crown prince had ordered it.
Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Saudis, under intense pressure to explain Khashoggi’s whereabouts,
have offered conflicting accounts.
They initially said he had left the consulate on October 2—but on
Friday, October 19 admitted for the first time he was dead, saying he
had been killed in a fight. This claim met widespread scepticism.
Turkish officials believe Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi
government, was murdered by a team of Saudi agents inside the building
and say they have evidence to prove it.
Adel al-Jubeir’s comments, describing the incident as murder, are some
of the most direct to come from a Saudi official.
“We are determined to find out all the facts and we are determined to
punish those who are responsible for this murder,” he said. “The
individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their
authority,” he added. “There obviously was a tremendous mistake made,
and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up.”
The minister also said that Saudi Arabia did not know where the body
was and insisted the action had not been ordered by Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, seen as the country’s most powerful figure.
“Even the senior leadership of our intelligence service was not aware
of this,” he said, calling it a “rogue operation”.
However, Yeni Safak, a media outlet close to Turkey’s government, says
it has information showing that the office of the crown prince
received four phone calls from the consulate after the killing.
Reuters news agency reported on Sunday it had spoken to a Saudi
official who said Khashoggi had died in a chokehold after resisting
attempts to return him to Saudi Arabia. His body was then rolled in a
rug and given to a local “co-operator” to dispose of.
Separately, CNN quoted a senior Turkish official as saying a Saudi
agent had been captured on surveillance footage dressed as the
journalist.
The video appears to show the man leaving the consulate by the back
door on the day the journalist was killed, wearing Khashoggi’s
clothes, a fake beard and glasses, CNN said.
In another development, Turkish police found a car belonging to the
Saudi consulate left in an underground car park in Istanbul. The
police asked prosecutors and Saudi diplomats for permission to search
the vehicle.
Saudi Arabia admitted for the first time on Friday that Khashoggi had
died, suggesting he had been killed in a fight with some of the people
he was meeting inside the consulate.
Until this point the authorities had maintained that the Saudi critic
was last seen leaving the building alive.
Saudi officials say they have arrested 18 people, sacked two aides of
Mohammed bin Salman and set up a body, under his leadership, to reform
the intelligence agency over the killing.
Both King Salman and the crown prince called Khashoggi’s son, Salah,
on Sunday to express their condolences over his death, the Saudi Press
Agency reports.
Salah Khashoggi resides in Saudi Arabia and had reportedly been barred
from leaving the country to visit his father who was living in
self-imposed exile in the US.
Meanwhile, Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who raised the
alarm about his disappearance after waiting for him for hours outside
the consulate, was given 24-hour police protection, Turkey’s Anadolu
news agency reports.
Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
dismissed the Saudi version of events. “One cannot help but wonder how
there could have been a ‘fist fight’ between 15 young expert
fighters… and a 60-year-old Khashoggi, alone and defenceless,” he
wrote in Yeni Safak newspaper.
“The more one thinks about it, the more it feels like our intelligence
is being mocked.”
President Erdogan said he would reveal the “naked truth” of the matter
in parliament on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump earlier said there had been “deception” and
“lies” in Saudi Arabia’s explanation, having previously said last week
he found their narrative to be credible—and that he thought the United
States would be “punishing itself” by halting military sales to Saudi
Arabia.
The UK, France and Germany expressed shock at the death and demanded a
full explanation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will not allow arms
exports to Saudi Arabia to continue, and Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau has threatened to cancel a multi-billion dollar defence
contract with the Gulf kingdom.
But several of Saudi Arabia’s regional allies—including Kuwait and
Egypt—have come out in its support.
For Erdogan, the gruesome killing marks a historic moment: a chance to
turn the tables gifted to him by a cruel and reckless act that has
sparked revulsion, even among the kingdom’s allies.
“This has become a strategic struggle between Erdogan and his vision
for the Middle East and a vision shared by Prince Mohammed and his
allies, Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and
Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi,” said Soner Çağaptay, the
director of the Turkish programme at the Washington Institute.
“Erdogan sees an opportunity in the Khashoggi murder—in that he
realizes Prince Mohammed has become the weakest link in the
anti-Erdogan, anti-Muslim Brotherhood corner of the region. This is
really thin ice that Prince Mohammed is dancing on and I think Erdogan
is attempting to make it even thinner.
Senior Saudis who sought solace from Erdogan in Ankara in the past
fortnight left town believing he had an even bigger prize in
sight—relaunching Turkey as a regional Islamic power base, while
diminishing Riyadh’s claim to be the pre-eminent voice for Sunni
Islam.
Çağaptay believes Erdogan’s goals are more limited—for now. “What he’s
trying to get out of this is to sideline, or maybe even neutralize
Prince Mohammeda at least when it comes to Turkey. He wants to take
one of his opponents out of that triple entente that opposes him.”
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4 - Shuttered Lens: Legendary Turkish-Armenian Photographer Ara
Guler Dies
World-renowned Turkish-Armenian photographer Ara Güler, nicknamed the
“Eye of Istanbul,” passed away late Wednesday, October 17, at the
intensive care unit of the Florence Nightingale Hospital in Istanbul
after attempts to revive him failed. He was 90.
For years he had suffered from kidney failure and underwent dialysis
three times a week.
Born on August 16, 1926, Güler studied at Getronagan Armenian High
School. His father owned a pharmacy, but had many friends that
belonged to the world of art.
Guler’s work is included in the collections of institutions worldwide,
such as Paris’s National Library of France; New York’s George Eastman
Museum; Das imaginäre Photo-Museum; Museum Ludwig Köln; and Sheldon
Memorial Art Gallery. He won several awards for his work, including
Turkey’s Photographer of the Century, 1999; Master of Leica, 1962;
France’s Légion d’honneur; Lifetime Achievement Lucie Award, 2009; and
Turkey’s Grand Prize of Culture and Arts, 2005. In 2004, he was give
honorary fellowship by Istanbul’s Yıldız Technical University. He also
conducted interviews with such famous historic figures as Salvador
Dali and Winston Churchill.
He celebrated his 90th birthday with the opening of a museum named
after him. In January, a street in his neighborhood was also named
after him.
“I have always remained loyal to Istanbul,” Ara Güler had told the
French newspaper Le Monde in the interview he gave for the opening of
his exhibition in Paris.
Originally a film student who studied under Muhsin Ertuğrul, he
eventually abandoned cinema in favor of journalism and, in 1950, while
studying economics at University of Istanbul, started working as a
photojournalist at the Turkish newspaper Yeni Istanbul. In 1958, Güler
became the first correspondent for Time-Life’s Turkey branch, which
opened the door to publication in a number of other international
magazines. In 1961, he was hired by Hayat magazine as its chief
photographer, and during that period met Marc Riboud and Henri
Cartier-Bresson, who recruited him to join Magnum Photos. His work
continued on to international acclaim, appearing in exhibitions in
Germany and New York.
Güler’s philosophy on photography attached great importance to the
presence of humans in photography; he considered himself a visual
historian. According to him, photography should provide people with
memory of their suffering and their life. He felt that art can lie but
photography only reflects reality. He did not value photography as
art, but rather preferred photojournalism.
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5- Pashinyan, Aliyev Establish ‘Operative’ Ties
YEREVAN—A mechanism for “operative” ties has been established between
the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to Acting Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinyan who told reporters on Thursday, October 18,
that since a brief conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev the system has been effective.
Pashinyan and Aliyev held a discussion in Dushanbe, Tajikistan earlier
this month when the two were attending a summit of CIS leaders.
According to Pashinyan, he and Aliyev agreed to de-escalate tension
along the Armenia-Azerbaijan and Artsakh-Azerbaijan borders.
“Based on our agreement, a reliable and operative connection has been
established with the Azerbaijani side and we can say that any
information can be conveyed to the Azerbaijani President and from
their side to me within half an hour,” Pashinyan told reporters,
explaining that the communication between the two leaders takes place
on an as needed basis.
Pashinyan also attributed the recent relative calm on the borders to
his conversation and agreements with Aliyev.
“Generally speaking, the situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border and
Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line is unprecedentedly calm and it is, in
some sense, the result of Dushanbe agreements,” explained Pashinyan.
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6- Armenia confirms participation in Eurovision 2019
Armenia has confirmed its participation in Eurovision 2019. The 64th
Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the Expo Tel Aviv
(International Convention Center) in Israel from May 16 to 18, 2019.
Israel is hosting the contest for a third time having previously
staged the Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem in 1979 and 1999.
Armenia has participated in Eurovision 12 times since making its debut
in 2006, when Andre became the first participant representing not only
Armenia but the entire Transcaucasus region. Armenia has reached the
top 10 on seven occasions. Armenia's best results have been two
fourth-place finishes: Sirusho with the song “Qele, Qele” (2008) and
Aram Mp3 with “Not Alone” (2014).
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7- Veratartz Hayrenik: Knights and Daughters of Vartan
Makes Historic Visit to Armenia
Knights and Daughters of Vartan (KDV) leadership including Grand
Commander Dr. Gary Zamanigian, Past Grand Commander Steve Kradjian,
Past Grand Matron Sona Manuelian, Grand Associate Matron Salpy
Mankerian and Grand Secretary Taline Mankerian Kedjidjian including
the organizers Commander Hunan Arshakyan and Commander Tigran Sahakyan
and more than 40 members traveled to Armenia from September 15 to 22,
as a delegation to meet with dignitaries and visit the many service
projects supported by the KDV. The trip was an historic one in the
history of the organization as leaders met with the President of the
Republic of Armenian, Armen Sarkissian, to discuss current and future
service projects of the KDV. The leadership also met with the US
Ambassador to Armenia, Richard M. Mills and the Diaspora Minister,
Mkhitar Hayrapetyan.
On September 17, The KDV visited a Knights of Vartan (KOV) supported
school in Aparan with $320,000 in donations coming from KOV and the
World Bank, making it the largest project in Aparan, serving 120
students. The delegation was met by the mayor of Aparan as they were
led to the newly renovated auditorium to watch a wonderful recital by
the school children. The day ended with a wonderful dinner reception
hosted by the gracious Arshakyan family who are residents of Aparan
and San Diego, CA and who are KDV members.
On September 19, the delegation attended the opening of the newly
remodeled Ijevan Music School, where they were met with traditional
Armenian music and the children leading them to their new auditorium
where they had a musical performance.
The fundraising for the renovations was spearheaded by Past Matron
Barbara Haroutunian of Detroit, after being overcome with sadness with
the disrepair of the school during her visit last summer. Haroutunian
singlehandedly collected more than $24,000 for the school and when the
delegation entered the music school on this trip, they were overcome
with gratitude by the staff to the donors for their ability to make
the school a better place for the precious Armenian children.
On September 20, the delegation was delighted to visit the Knights of
Vartan School #106. Under the leadership of Principal Marine
Vardanyan, the KDV was treated to a beautiful presentation featuring
the 2,800th Anniversary of Yerevan by the school children. The KOV
supported many renovations to the school and under the leadership of
Grand Matron Diana Tookmanian shipments of scarves, mittens, warm
socks and blankets were sent to the children.
On September 22, the delegation was honored and delighted to attend
the home blessing of the Dzhumyan family in Nor Gyugh. The family of
five which included their grandmother had been living in a metal
container (Domik) for twelve years. With the assistance of Fuller
House and Past Matron Sona Manuelian of New Jersey and the generous
donation of $10,500 from the Knights of Vartan, the family is now
living in a beautiful new home.
The Knights of Vartan also built a sports and cultural complex which
includes a basketball court, a swimming pool and an outdoor
amphitheater in the region of Tavush. The project was spearheaded by
the Mamigonian lodge of Brooklyn, New York, led by Commander Tigran
Sahakyan. The center will provide much needed after school activities
for the region including swimming lessons, which the children of
Tavush have never had. It was a very large undertaking with $200,000
in donations including a large sum of money donated by NS Tigran
Sahakyan, which proved to be an extremely successful project.
Grand Associate Matron Salpy Mankerian and Grand Secretary Taline
Mankerian Kedjidjian also visited the Mer Hooys home for disadvantaged
girls aged 8-22, which is supported by the Daughters of Vartan. They
left the residence that day impressed with the program, the staff, the
home and the wonderful residents.
The girls are given a faith-based foundation, they are taught life
skills, they take music and language lessons and are given a college
education in order for them to live independent lives after graduation
from the home. The girls were joyful and happy to perform on the piano
for the visitors as well as singing and dancing for them and at the
end they all joined in together to dance the traditional Armenian
Shoorchbar with their visitors.
The KDV leadership also had the opportunity to meet with the
Presidents of the American University of Armenia, Dr. Armen Der
Kiureghian and of the Polytechnic University, Dr. Vostanik Marukhyan.
The KDV reiterated its mission to support both schools by continuing
with providing scholarships to students and to continue to foster an
environment that may provide opportunities for both U.S. students and
students from Armenia. The delegation also attended Church services at
Etchmiadzin Cathedral, after which a wreath was placed at the Armenian
Genocide Memorial Complex and an evergreen tree was planted next to a
plaque donated by the Knights of Vartan.
The trip concluded with a Banquet attended by eighty Knights and
Daughters of Vartan at the beautiful Megerian Carpet Museum with
appreciation given to those who have made contributions to the
realization of the many service projects that have given hope and
changed so many lives in Armenia.
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