Deutsche Welle journalists investigated over article on 'suspicious transactions'

Photo: Bradley Secker

Click to read the article in Turkish

Prosecutors have opened an investigation against a correspondent and a news manager for Deutsche Welle's Turkish service because of a report about a Turkey-based bank's activities revealed in the FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) files, which were leaked from the US Treasury in September.

The investigation started after a criminal complaint by the AktifBank and reporter Pelin Ünker testified at the İstanbul Security Directorate's financial crimes department yesterday (January 6), the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported.

David Limbourg, a news manager at DW who doesn't reside in Turkey, is also being investigated.

A court previously blocked access to the article that is the subject of the investigation as well as other news articles about the same issue.

CLICK - Court blocks access to reports on Turkey-based bank's activities revealed in FinCEN files

The DW Turkish article titled "Accusation by US banks: Aktif Bank facilitates suspicious transactions" lists some activities by the bank, citing the FinCEN leak.

Berat Albayrak, the former finance minister and the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was the CEO of Çalık Holding when some of the alleged transactions occurred.

AktifBank is owned by Çalık Holding, which has close ties to the government.

The holding had also taken legal action against Ünker because of her reports about the Paradise Papers leak on daily Cumhuriyet, accusing her of "insult and slander." A court dismissed the case last month.

Ünker was handed a prison sentence in early 2019 because of the same reports for "creating an impression as if former prime minister Binali Yıldırım and his sons evaded tax." An appeals court later reversed her prison sentence. (HA/VK)