AKP deputy's husband arrested after allegations of involvement in corrupt network
A Turkish deputy's husband, who was recently implicated -alongside his wife, a Presidential advisor and a former head of the Turkish Capital Markets Board (SPK)- of receiving hefty bribes in exchange for providing shady companies opportunity for public trading, was arrested in a coastal province of Turkey on Monday.
Unsal Ban, the husband of Zehra Taskesenlioglu -deputy for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)- had been accused by rogue Mafia boss Sedat Peker of being part of a corrupt network in the Turkish stock market.
Peker had claimed on Saturday that AKP deputy Zehra Taskesenlioglu, former SPK head Ali Fuat Taskesenlioglu (also brother of Zehra Taskesenlioglu) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's advisor Serkan Taranoglu had conspired, with the help of some media figures, to provide needy companies credibility to enable them launch public offerings.
Businesswoman Mine Tozlu Sineren, who according to Peker refused to pay bribe to the network, confirmed the allegations Saturday on TV, and said, “I have reported it to state institutions every time, but I have not received a response."
The man opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) filed criminal complaints on Monday over the allegations of Peker and Sineren's confirmation of the attempt to extract bribe.
It has come to light in the meanwhile that deputy Zehra Taskesenlioglu, who is on the verge of divorce, also filed a criminal complaint against her husband Unsal Ban over the charge of "violation of the intimacy of private life."
The husband was arrested near the Aegean coastal town of Milas as he was about to flee the country by sea, government media Sabah reported.
The report by Sabah's Halit Turan said that an arrest order for Unsal Ban was earlier issued on charges of "sharing his wife's personal information with an organized crime boss" and "blackmail."
The charges brought up against Ban over Peker's allegations were not mentioned in the report.
Zehra Taskesenlioglu and Unsal Ban was married in April 2019, and their wedding was attended by Turkish President Erdogan and senior officials of the AKP.
