CHP further probes case on shady gold transfer from Ghana

The cargo plane carrying the gold belonged to Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani. DHA Photo

Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul Deputy Umut Oran has submitted another parliamentary question regarding the shady gold transfer from Ghana to Dubai via Istanbul.

In addition to submitting the parliamentary question, which is the third in three days, Oran questioned the shortcomings in investigating the seizure of the cargo plane carrying gold belonging to Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani.

Oran claimed that although inspectors had detected serious illegalities and forgery regarding the cargo, they could not include them in their reports due to pressure from Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazıcı. “Why did you instruct the inspectors to conclude their investigations in one month?” he asked in his parliamentary question.

A cargo plane carrying one-and-half tons of gold to Iran as part of a deal pertaining to Zanjani was grounded in early June in 2013 by the Turkish Customs Directorate because of the cargo’s poor documentation. The plane was allowed to leave Turkey with its cargo after the necessary measures were completed later in 2013, leaving important questions about the gold transaction and Turkey’s role in the process unanswered. The issue was brought back to Turkey’s agenda after Dec. 17, 2013, when the judiciary launched a massive corruption and graft operation engulfing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his four ministers’ relations with an Iranian-origin businessman, Reza Zarrab. Zarrab is believed to have strong trade relations with Zanjani and reportedly eased the transfer of billions of dollars-worth of gold to Iran via Turkey.  

Closely following the issue, Oran has submitted several parliamentary questions in recent months, but has intensified his role on the...

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