Did Erdoğan's family invest in tax haven?
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of Turkey's main opposition party CHP, presented documents on Tuesday that he claims prove that relatives of President Erdoğan put money into an offshore company. The transfers allegedly made by Erdoğan's son and brother to a company based on the Isle of Man amount to around 15 million US dollars. Pro-government media see the allegations as another attempt to remove Erdoğan from power. Others fear the affair will never be properly investigated.
An attempted coup orchestrated by foreign powers
The pro-government daily Yeni Şafak sees the opposition leader's offensive as part of a foreign operation against Turkey and President Erdoğan:
“The multinational attacks on Turkey and President Erdoğan continue unabated, only the tactics and the methods have changed and new Trojan horses are being used. Now that Gülen has been immobilised and the terrorist organisations weakened, a political party has been brought into play. ... This is an attempted coup. Kılıçdaroğlu is on the multinational putschists' side. He has been assigned to take Gülen's place. Consequently Kılıçdaroğlu is clearly responsible for this latest attempted coup and will also be held to account.”
Independent investigation is essential
Only an independent international institution can shed light on the whole affair, the opposition daily Cumhuriyet argues:
“The only thing the accused have in common is their close ties to Tayyip, meaning that the matter must be thoroughly investigated and made public. And above all: was the 15 million dollar transaction actually carried out? Those who allegedly transferred the money must make a statement. Naturally, at the same time the authenticity of the documents must also be assessed by an independent court. In view of the sad and ugly incidents of recent years in our country and the doubts about the independence of the Turkish judiciary, putting the affair in the hands of an independent international institution seems like the logical thing to do.”