, typically allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have been forced to resign from the party amid allegations that they were involved in gold smuggling from the United Arab Emirates to Turkey, the Sözcü daily reported.){kind=link}
Three lawmakers from the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), typically allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have been forced to resign from the party amid allegations that they were involved in gold smuggling from the United Arab Emirates to Turkey, the Sözcü daily reported.
A senior party official, Deputy Chairman Semih Yalçın, announced on X on Wednesday that the resignations of Isparta MP Hasan Basri Sönmez, Bolu MP İsmail Akgül and Kilis MP Mustafa Demir were requested as part of an investigation within the party and that their letters of resignation have been accepted.
With the resignation of the three lawmakers, the number of MHP parliamentary seats has dropped to 47 from 50.
Yalçın did not explain why the MPs were asked to resign or what the accusations against the lawmakers are. However, it has been reported that the MPs are accused of misusing their privileges to import gold cheaply from Dubai and receiving commissions for the transactions.
Journalist Fatih Altay claimed in an article on his personal website that President Erdoğan presented allegations regarding three MHP lawmakers to party leader Devlet Bahçeli during their latest meeting on November 14 in Ankara. Initially, Bahçeli expressed disbelief in the allegations and defended the lawmakers. He was later convinced when Erdoğan showed him video footage that allegedly proved the lawmakers’ involvement in gold smuggling, Altaylı wrote.
All three lawmakers expressed their loyalty to the MHP following their resignations, saying that they stand behind Bahçeli.
Feti Yıldız, another MHP deputy chairman, made a statement on X on Thursday after the resignation of the three deputies in which he emphasized the importance of loyalty to morality, honesty and rightfulness.
“The MHP is the place of those who do not abuse their authority, do not put their ego forward and refrain from arrogance,” said Yıldız.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç told reporters on Thursday that there is no ongoing judicial investigation into the three lawmakers who resigned from the MHP.
Recently, some figures close to Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) were also discovered to be involved in gold smuggling.
In September, Turkish authorities intercepted 60 kilograms of illegal gold in the suitcase of Yunus Emre Morkoç, who had served as an aide to a former deputy customs and trade minister, in the İstanbul Airport’s VIP lounge.
The gold, worth approximately 174 million Turkish lira ($5 million), was discovered on Sept. 20 during a search of Morkoç’s luggage following his arrival on a flight from Dubai.
Morkoç, who had traveled with former Deputy Customs and Trade Minister Fatih Metin, accessed the VIP lounge, which is typically reserved for senior officials and politicians. Although the search of a VIP passenger’s belongings is uncommon, customs officers reportedly conducted the inspection based on intelligence information.
Morkoç was arrested, but no action has been taken against Metin, who said he had no knowledge of the gold and denied any connection to the incident.
Metin, a former deputy minister and ex-AKP lawmaker, claimed that his former aide’s activities were unrelated to his own, adding that he had traveled to Dubai for professional reasons and that Morkoç had accompanied him on his own.
Journalist Timur Soykan from BirGün who detailed the circumstances of the smuggling attempt, noted that the incident raises questions about the involvement of other officials, including two former and three current lawmakers from the AKP and the MHP, who have been linked to frequent Dubai trips.
The three MHP lawmakers who were forced to resign are believed to be those hinted at by Soykan.
These incidents have drawn attention to an ongoing gold smuggling crisis in Turkey. The country’s August 2023 imposition of a monthly import quota for unprocessed gold aimed to curb a significant portion of the trade deficit in the country.
However, the quota has inadvertently fueled black-market activities, as the price of gold in Turkey currently exceeds that in Dubai by $3,000 to $5,000 per kilogram. Industry insiders say the current wave of smuggling resembles that of the late 1980s, when illegal gold imports surged due to similar price discrepancies.