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New York City mayor Eric Adams has been charged with fraud and bribery over an alleged long-running scheme to solicit cash and luxury travel from Turkish government officials and other wealthy foreign donors.
In an indictment unsealed on Thursday in Manhattan federal court, Adams is accused of seeking “illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign, as well as other things of value”, and providing “favourable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received”.
The explosive charges come after a months-long corruption probe that engulfed City Hall and prompted a series of resignations from high-ranking members of Adams’s administration. They mark the first criminal case in modern history against a sitting New York mayor and have sent shockwaves through the political scene in America’s largest city, where Adams — a former police captain — was once seen as a rising star.
If convicted, the crimes with which the 64-year-old has been charged carry a maximum sentence of dozens of years in prison.
Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York who brought the charges, said Adams accepted multiple bribes “even though he knew these contributions were attempts . . . to buy influence”.
Adams failed to disclose more than $100,000 worth of “freebies”, such as business class flights on Turkish Airlines and stays in luxury hotels, he alleged. “Year after year after year, he kept the public in the dark,” Williams said, adding that Adams recently “rekindled these corrupt relationships” to support his looming re-election campaign.
In the indictment, Adams is accused of receiving more than $10mn in matched campaign donations from the city after accepting illegal contributions from Turkish figures and disguising their true origin.
Adams is alleged to have returned the favour to Turkish officials in 2021 by pressuring the New York City fire department to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate, housed in a Manhattan skyscraper, in time for a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, despite the building having been deemed unsafe by inspectors.
In a defiant press conference outside Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, Adams appealed to New Yorkers to “wait to hear our defence before making any judgment” and vowed he would remain in office.
“I look forward to defending myself and defending the people of this city,” he added. “I follow campaign rules and I follow the law.”
Adams, a centrist Democrat and former Brooklyn borough president, was elected after campaigning on a law-and-order platform and pledging to crack down on homelessness in New York.
His time in office has been marred by accusations of cronyism, as well as growing criticism of his administration’s haphazard handling of migrants bussed in from the southern border.
Last year, agents raided the Brooklyn home of his 25-year-old chief campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs, reportedly as part of a probe into donations from the Turkish state. Adams was stopped on the street soon after by FBI agents who seized his phone and laptop.
A series of other raids followed, targeting the first deputy mayor and deputy mayor for public safety, among others.
This month, New York police commissioner Edward Caban, whose phone was reportedly seized by law enforcement, resigned, saying “the noise around recent developments” had made his work impossible. The home of Caban’s interim replacement was also searched by investigators.
Meanwhile, City Hall was rocked by the resignation of one of its senior lawyers and the unexpected retirement of David Banks, who is in charge of New York’s public school system and whose phones were also seized.
A growing number of prominent Democrats have called for Adams’s resignation, including New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said on Wednesday that she could “not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City”.
Turkey’s communications directorate and state-owned Turkish Airlines did not respond to requests for comment.
Additional reporting by Adam Samson in Ankara
