Turkey Denies Citizenship Irregularities, Tightens Security Checks

Turkey has refuted allegations that the country granted citizenship to foreign nationals, including members of international organized crime groups, through preferential treatment and bribery.

During a meeting of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, İbrahim Taşyapan, director general of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs under the Interior Ministry, addressed these claims, explaining that “the directorate is closely monitoring the citizenship application process and has increased security checks to include verification from INTERPOL for security clearances both during the application phase and shortly before the application is finalized.”

Journalist Nuray Babacan and opposition politicians have raised allegations suggesting a network of irregularities and bribery involving Justice and Development Party (AKP) politicians. They accuse the AKP government of transforming Turkey into a haven for international criminals by granting them citizenship.

Ahmet Şener, Managing Partner of Smart Citizenship, explained that “most of the problematic Turkish citizenships granted were by using other routes. People trying to circumvent Interpol records or having a record at home did not use the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) route anyway.” He suggests that the CBI program is not the primary avenue for criminals seeking Turkish citizenship.

Taşyapan outlined the stringent process for granting Turkish citizenship to foreign nationals, which requires investigations by the National Intelligence Organization, the intelligence department of the Security Directorate General, and the intelligence unit of the Directorate of Migration Management. He emphasized that “there is also a condition to communicate with the intelligence unit of the applicant’s country of citizenship.”

The citizenship process spans five to six months after routine investigations, and the directorate contacts INTERPOL once more before finalizing the application to ensure the individual’s clear status. Taşyapan conceded that delays in information sharing sometimes render it “impossible” to obtain reliable information about a person’s criminal record from their country before granting citizenship.

Şener noted that “it is very difficult to verify the depth of investigation carried out by the Turkish intel agency, but it is safe to say it has become more extensive since the new director took office. There is no other way to justify the extended timeline for granting citizenship, as the applications are reported to be at an all-time low.”

This suggests that the Turkish government has strengthened the vetting process for citizenship applications. Şener also acknowledged that the issue of citizenship irregularities is “a very loaded subject,” highlighting the sensitivity of the topic in Turkey.

Since assuming office in June of last year, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has overseen more than 1,000 operations targeting international criminal gangs, resulting in the arrest of thousands of suspects.

Some of these gang members allegedly secured citizenship during the term of Yerlikaya’s predecessor, Süleyman Soylu, who dismissed the allegations against him as “defamation, lies and baseless accusations.”

Despite these assertions, European law enforcement officials have voiced concerns, as reported by VICE World News in April 2023, that criminals connected to large-scale drug trafficking are exploiting Turkey’s citizenship policy for investors while capitalizing on the country’s unwillingness to extradite its new citizens.