Korkmaz Karaca announced his resignation from all his posts at the Presidency and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday (August 30), citing health problems.
He had serious intestine surgeries in two months between March and May, Korkmaz said in a written statement.
His resignation comes after being mentioned in the tweets of Sedat Peker, who is sought for leading a criminal gang.
Residing in the UAE, Peker, formerly a pro-government figure, has been making allegations of corruption against senior government officials since last year.
In his latest tweets over the weekend, he claimed to reveal a bribery and extortion network involving high-level government officials.
Karaca served as an advisor to President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a member of the Presidential Council on Economic Policies, a member of the AKP Central Executive Committee and a deputy chair of the AKP's Local Administrations branch.
Later in the day, journalist Barış Yarkadaş, who had spoken with him over the phone, quoted him as saying, "I resigned from my duty but we will continue to walk together with Mr. President on the road to 2023."
"Whomever has information or documents should give them to the prosecutor's office," said Karaca.
WhatsApp messages
Korkmaz's name was mentioned in the WhatsApp messages released by Peker, which were purported to be between another advisor to Erdoğan, Serkan Taranoğlu, and Mine Tozlu-Sineren, a businessperson.
In the messages, Taranoğlu asks Tozlu-Sineren to bribe him to enable her company to increase its capital, and warns her that Korkmaz would ask for a much higher bribe for the same job.
Tozlu-Sineren confirmed that the screenshots Peker released were genuine.
Sedat Peker's allegationsA well-known figure in Turkey's underworld since the 1990s, Peker was imprisoned multiple times for organized crime. Following his release in 2014 after serving 10 years in prison, Peker took a pro-government stance, publicly expressing his opinions on current affairs and holding pro-government rallies attended by thousands of people. At the time, he was described as a "businessperson" in the pro-government media and received "businessperson of the year" awards from several different organizations. In late 2019, he reportedly left the country to avoid arrest in an investigation against him for leading an organized crime group. In February 2020, he announced on YouTube that he was in Montenegro. Denying the arrest warrant claims, he said he had gone to the country to complete his university education and would come back to Turkey. Turning against his former allies, Peker began his revelations on YouTube in early May last year, after, according to him, Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu failed to keep his promise that he would be able to return to the country in April. Peker targeted several former and incumbent government officials in his videos, making serious accusations against them, including international drug smuggling, political assassinations, corruption, sexual assault and murder. Along with Soylu, former Minister of Interior Mehmet Ağar, his son and AKP deputy Tolga Ağar, former PM Binali Yıldırım's son Erkam Yıldırım, and former intelligence and military officer Korkut Eken were among Peker's high-profile targets. Peker's videos had over 100 million views on YouTube and were dubbed as the "Sedatflix" on social media. The government and relevant people dismissed some of his claims while remaining silent about others. However, he was not able to release a new video after June 20, 2021, because the UAE did not allow him due to security concerns, according to Peker. He has continued his allegations on Twitter. He said he would resume releasing videos two months before the elections, which are due to take place in June 2023. Read more on Sedat Peker videos: Sedat Peker claims to reveal new cocaine route between Colombia-Venezuela-Turkey 'Let the wall come down': Assassinations in '90s come under spotlight again after Peker's claims Peker says his 'bloodbath' threats to academics helped government create a 'climate of fear' Sedat Peker reveals more evidence of his ties to interior minister Mob boss Peker's confessions put military contractor close to Erdoğan under scrunity Investigation into journalist Kutlu Adalı's killing after confessions of mob boss New revelations by Sedat Peker as he postpones video about Erdoğan due to Biden meeting |
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