The Erdogan clan and its millionaire business with Baku in Nagorno-Karabakh
Joint EUR 100 million project delegated to trusted men of the Turkish president and his Azerbaijani counterpart. The two leaders visited the agricultural park with 500 jobs and 10,000 head of cattle. Investments were also made in infrastructure and gold and copper mines. Tenders awarded to the "Gang of Five".
Istanbul (AsiaNews) - Ankara and Baku in the name of Islamic "brotherhood" and common interests are strengthening relations by launching a joint 100 million euro project, entrusted to family members and trusted men of the presidents of the two countries.
A unity of intent that has been growing since Azerbaijan's victory over Armenia in the 2020 war, during which Turkey provided its ally with substantial military aid, and which is now being put to good use: companies close to Recep Tayyip Erdogan have received at least hundreds of millions in contracts, particularly in the reconstruction of territories in Nagorno-Karabakh that the Azeris took back during the war.
In some cases, relations go beyond business and politics: in the Zangilan region, members of the Erdogan family are active participants in a complex deal with relatives of Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev. The two leaders were personally involved in the establishment of the Dost ('friends') agricultural park in October 2021, a 100 million project with 500 jobs and 10,000 head of cattle; both revisited the area (and the project) on 20 October during a joint stop in Nagorno-Karabakh, where they inaugurated a new airport on the border with Armenia and Iran.
Accompanying Erdogan on the tour was Abdulkadir Karagöz, the owner of Dost Ziraat, the main Turkish investor in the agricultural park, but above all the husband of the president's niece, the daughter of his brother Mustafa. Shortly after his marriage in 2016, the man started collecting government contracts and an ever-increasing volume of business, one of which was the agricultural project in Karabakh, and bringing other members of the Erdogan family into the company. In some of the business documents analysed by Eurasianet, the names of two other nephews emerge: Üsame, Mustafa's son, and Ahmet Enes İlgen, son of the leader's sister Vesile İlgen (now exiled).
On the Azerbaijani side, the most important player is Pasha Investments, part of the Pasha Holding, which unites a number of companies and activities attributable to Aliyev's wife and first vice president, Mehriban Aliyeva. However, agricultural park management is the prerogative of another Erdogan ally, Mehmet Zeki Tuğrul, once a member of the youth wing of the ruling Akp party. The plan is to expand it further by exploiting the territory of Lachin, also conquered in the 2020 war against Yerevan.
Karagöz is not the only Turkish businessman in the Erdogan clan. Others include: Cemal Kalyoncu, president of Kalyon Holding; Mehmet Cengiz, president of Cengiz Holding; Yıldırım Demirören, president of Demirören Holding. The trio has always been a key ally and has accompanied his political rise, as well as being part of the clique of companies known as the 'Gang of Five', which has been awarded most of the big tenders for billion-dollar deals, now focused on infrastructure and mining (gold and copper).
Another company of the 'Gang of Five', Kolin İnşaat, also received a substantial road construction contract in Nagorno-Karabakh, aimed at the construction of the 'Victory Road' in the direction of Shusha, with Azerbaijani partner Azvirt. Kolin also plays an active role in the creation of a market (located along the 'Turkish-Azerbaijani Friendship Road') in the village of Agali, where the first Azeris resettled in the disputed territory. There are about 30 Turkish companies operating in the territory, according to Ankara's embassy in Baku.
"These companies," explained Yakup Sefer, Turkey's chief trade advisor in Baku, "have already invested over a billion euros and the resources are set to grow" in the future.
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