A court has ordered Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to pay TL 10.000 in damages for insulting statements made about the Service for Youth and Education Foundation of Turkey (TÜRGEV), the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday.
According to the report, TÜRGEV, an organization for which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son Bilal serves as an executive board member, sued Kılıçdaroğlu for two statements made Aug. 2-5, 2014.
TÜRGEV was among the institutions that were mentioned in Dec. 17-25, 2013 corruption operations. On Jan. 27, 2014 Kılıçdaroğlu voiced new graft claims about the foundation, saying that TÜRGEV received $99,999,990, which was transferred into its account.
It was later proven that the transfer was made by the Saudi royal family. The CHP then claimed that the funds were paid by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in 2012 in return for real estate known as Sevda Tepesi in İstanbul’s Üsküdar district.
In one of his speeches Kılıçdaroğlu said: “Public tenders are granted [to businesspeople]. And bribes are paid to TÜRGEV.”
TÜRGEV also made news in the case of Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, who is under indictment in the United States for helping Iran evade sanctions in financial transactions, when it was alleged that Zarrab, who has been praised by Turkish President Erdoğan, had also made donations to TÜRGEV.