Three Turks close to AKP sentenced for fraud in Germany

18/09/2008

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Three members of the Turkish community in Germany received prison sentences Wednesday (September 17th) for stealing more than 14m euros from the accounts of a Turkish charity organisation. The three men, all of whom pleaded guilty, allegedly have close ties with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey. The main suspect, Mehmet Gurhan, a former director of the German branch of the Deniz Feneri charity organisation, will serve nearly six years in prison for fraud. The court in Frankfurt sentenced the other two suspects, Mehmet Taskan and Firdevsi Ermis, whom it convicted of fraud and complicity, to two years and nine months and a suspended sentence of one year and ten months in prison, respectively. Presiding Judge Jochen Mueller described the case as the biggest charity scandal in Germany. (Sabah, Zaman - 18/09/08; AFP, Hurriyet, CNN Turk, AP - 17/09/08)