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The indictment alleges Adams received over $123,000 in unreported travel benefits.
A newly unsealed indictment from the U.S. District Court of Southern New York alleged Mayor Eric Adams received campaign contributions from foreign nationals, including free or discounted flights and upgrades from Turkish Airlines.
The allegation is just one of a plethora of charges the New York City mayor faces in an international bribery scandal. Thursday’s unsealed indictment alleged that Adams and his companions received free or discounted travel on Turkey’s national airline, which is owned in significant part by the Turkish government, to destinations including France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary, and Turkey itself.
An unnamed senior Turkish diplomat referred to in the indictment as “the Turkish Official” and other Turkish nationals allegedly arranged for Adams and his companions to receive free rooms at opulent hotels, free meals at high-end restaurants, and free luxurious entertainment while in Turkey.
According to the indictment, Adams solicited and accepted free and heavily discounted luxury air travel from Turkish Airlines in 2016 and 2017 as part of the Turkish Official’s efforts to gain influence over him on three separate trips.
It stated that in October 2016, Adams and his “domestic partner” traveled to India. Adams’ partner purchased economy class tickets for the two of them for approximately $2,286. Two days before their flight was scheduled to depart, Adams accepted upgrades for himself and his partner by Turkish Airlines to business class at no cost.
The indictment stated that business class is the highest class offered by Turkish Airlines and that the tickets would have cost approximately $15,000 total if Adams and his partner had bought them.
In July and August 2017, Adams, a close relative and a member of his staff traveled to Nice, France; Istanbul, Turkey; Columbo, Sri Lanka; and Beijing, China. The indictment alleged Adams accepted free business class tickets from Turkish Airlines, worth more than $35,000 total, for himself and his companions on these trips.
In October 2017, Adamas and a member of his staff traveled to Nepal through Istanbul and Beijing. The indictment alleged that Adams accepted free business class tickets from Turkish Airline for himself and that member of his staff for the flights from New York to Istanbul and Istanbul to Beijing, as well as corresponding return flights. These flights were worth more than $16,000 in total.
The indictment stated that because the carrier provided free travel benefits worth tens of thousands of dollars to Adams, he flew Turkish Airlines even when doing so was otherwise inconvenient.
It stated that during the July and August 2017 trip, Adams’ partner was surprised to learn that Adams was in Turkey when she had understood him to be flying from New York to France. Adams responded in a text message: “Transferring here. You know first stop is always [Istanbul].”
Additionally, the indictment alleged that Adams also accepted valuable travel and hospitality benefits for himself and his companions during their time in Turkey. On one trip, Adams stayed in the “Bentley Suite” at the St. Regis Istanbul Hotel for two nights. The indictment stated that this would have cost $7,000, but Adams paid a total of less than $600.
The indictment stated that Adams did not disclose any of these trips on his annual disclosure forms, despite a legal requirement to do so. Adams continued to use these travel perks into the 2021 campaign year. From 2016 to 2021, the indictment alleged Adams received over $123,000 in travel benefits going to several countries, none of which were disclosed.
Turkish Airlines did not immediately respond to AirlineGeeks’ request for comment.
Caleb Revill is a journalist, writer and lifelong learner working as a Junior Writer for Firecrown. When he isn't tackling breaking news, Caleb is on the lookout for fascinating feature stories. Every person has a story to tell, and Caleb wants to help share them! He can be contacted by email anytime at [email protected].
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