A New York real estate mogul is set to plead guilty in the bribery case of Mayor Eric Adams.
In a letter to the court, prosecutors revealed the identity of "Businessman-5" in the indictment as Erden Arkan, the Turkish-born owner of KSK Construction Group.
The letter from prosecutors states that Arkan plans to plead guilty to charges related to a scheme to make illegal campaign donations to Adams. Arkan was accused of helping to arrange for phony donations to Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign at the behest of Reyhan Özgür, a Turkish official. Özgür allegedly arranged for Adams to receive free or discounted travel on Turkish Airlines flights, the New York Post reported.
The newspaper quoted court docs that state that Özgür was allegedly lobbying Adams to fast-track the opening of Turkey's consulate building.
In all, Adams faces a charge of conspiracy, wire fraud, two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, and a count of soliciting and accepting bribes.
New: Erden Arkan, ID'd as "businessman-5" in Mayor Adams' case, has indicated he wishes to plead guilty.
— Josie Stratman (@JosieStratman) December 23, 2024
Arkan is an owner of KSK Construction pic.twitter.com/BhjRyGIKkv
