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Bilal Erdogan Denies Allegations He Is Funding ISIS: Here's The Problem

Tyler Durden's picture




 

It was just three weeks ago that we posed “the most important question about ISIS that no one is asking.” Namely, we wanted to know who the middlemen are that assist Islamic State in smuggling some 45,000 barrels of stolen crude each and every day. 

To be sure, that’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it’s not exactly trivial either especially considering this is a non-state actor (well, Baghdadi would say his “caliphate” is most certainly a “state” actor, but you get the idea). We suggested that the answer may well lie with the the Glencores, the Vitols, the Trafiguras, the Nobels, the Mercurias of the world and indeed, when we look at one of the likely trafficking routes from Iraq and through Turkey, it seems possible that if ISIS is taking advantage of the same system that the KRG uses to get its crude to Ceyhan, these trading houses or at least their former employees may well be involved. After all, sources have said Trafigura and Vitol deal in Kurdish oil and when Kurdistan went looking for an advisor to assist in the effort to circumvent Baghdad, the KRG chose Murtaza Lakhani to help them find ships. Lakhani used to work for Glencore in Iraq in the 2000s.

Well when it comes to ships, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son Bilal has a fleet via his BMZ Group. Here they are:

Mecid Aslanov 

 Begim Aslanova 

Poet Qabil 

Armada Breeze  

Shovket Alekperova 

Amusingly, they’re all Malta-flagged which seems rather convenient given what we know about the offshore, ship-to-ship transfer ruse conducted off the Malta coast by vessels seeking to prevent Baghdad from tracking illegal Kurdish oil shipments.

In short, we already know Erdogan is moving illicit crude from the KRG (with whom Ankara is friendly by the way, despite the fact that they are Kurds) via a son-in-law and in large quantities. What's to say he isn't moving ISIS crude via the same networks through his son Bilal? Or perhaps through his other son Burak who Today's Zaman reminds us "also owns a fleet of ships [and] was featured in a report by the Sözcü daily in 2014 [when his] vessel Safran 1 was anchored in Israel's port of Ashdod” (which Al-Araby al-Jadeed says is often the destination for ISIS crude shipped from Ceyhan). 

(Bilal as Robin Hood)

Just days after we completed a four-part series (here, here, here, and here) outlining everything mentioned above in exhaustive detail, the Russian MoD delivered a devastatingly convincing presentation showing photos of oil trucks, videos of airstrikes and maps detailing the trafficking of stolen oil. Moscow has been pounding the table ever since and The Kremlin has explicitly stated that Erdogan and his family are behind the trade. 

“No one in the West, I wonder, does not cause the issue that the son of the President of Turkey is the leader of one of the largest energy companies, and son-in-law was appointed Minister of Energy? What a brilliant family business!,”  Deputy Minister of Defence Anatoly Antonov said, in opening remarks before the press event. Then, late last week, CHP lawmaker Eren Erdem said he, like Moscow, will soon provide proof of Erdogan’s role in the smuggling of Islamic State oil. "I have been able to establish that there is a very high probability that Berat Albayrak is linked to the supply of oil by the Daesh terrorists,” Erdem said at a press conference on Thursday, referring to Erdogan’s son-in-law.

(Berat Albayrak)

Erdogan is of course furious with the allegations, calling them “immoral” and “unacceptable,” and now, Bilal has joined his father in denying the family’s role in the smuggling of ISIS crude. 

"We build offices in Istanbul ... We do not do business in the Mediterranean, in Syria or Iraq," Bilal told Corriere della Sera. "ISIS is an enemy of my country. ISIS is a disgrace. It puts my religion in a bad light. They don't represent Islam and I do not consider them to be Muslims.” 

We assume Baghdadi will understand that those comments were made under duress.

Bilal also said he had no operational shipping activities, and that his company has a contract to build "river tankers", but that it did not operate the ships itself. As Reuters notes, and as we’ve shown, “Bilal has shipping and maritime assets and controls several oil tankers through his company and partnerships in other firms.” The idea that he owns all of the tankers shown above and yet somehow has "no operational shipping activities" seems absurd.

Furthermore, Bilal doesn’t think his brother is a terrorist and resents the implication. 

"He has a cargo ship, but it cannot be used as a tanker,” he said.

Ok, but someone is buying the oil, and if it’s not Bilal and the Turks, then who is it? Bilal has an answer: “If you follow ISIS oil, you will find Assad,” he contends.

Note that’s the exact same line the US is trying to use, and as we said two weeks ago, it’s not clear why Assad would buy oil from a group that uses the cash at its disposal to wage war against Damascus, especially when one considers that Assad's closest allies (Russia and Iran) are major oil producers. We went on to qualify that by noting that between all the shady middlemen and double dealing, there's really no telling. 

Of course the main problem with Bilal’s statement is that when “you follow ISIS oil,” you do not find Assad, you find Turkey. And on that note we’ll simply close with the following video from the Russian MoD:

 

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Tue, 12/08/2015 - 13:07 | 6894247 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

That would take quite the active imagination; I don't think that agency can find their ass with a flashlight and tour guide. They onlt kick hornet nests, they don't control the swarm, just like the British before them.

Don't forget the other important resource in the region: water. Israel needs it like never before.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 11:34 | 6893570 ILikeBoats
ILikeBoats's picture

So ... Israel doesn't want to even pay full retail for oil? 

I guess they count the Semitic Arabs and Turks as "cousins" as in "talk to my cousin Shmuely-Bilal, he can get you a good price on some crude - why not buy wholesale?"

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 15:40 | 6895259 Benjamin123
Benjamin123's picture

Israel is only a middleman, laundering the crude and getting a cut. Like Bilal. The crude ends up in europe, still at discounted prize. Its legit for the Europeans as the oil comes from Israel and nor ISIS.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 12:02 | 6893780 Zero-Hegemon
Zero-Hegemon's picture

All liars must hang.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 12:16 | 6893878 pupdog1
pupdog1's picture

Can Putin sink ships that are painted bright orange? Yes, I think he can.

Note to Vlad:

Save one cruise missile and aim it at Bivalve's nose.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 12:18 | 6893890 Ban KKiller
Ban KKiller's picture

War is profitable. See Dickhead Cheney, war profiteer and traitor. Boeing, GE, Raytheon, etc. 

 

I mean, why don't we TRY executing a few banksters and war profiteers? After a fair trial, of course. Betting if we were "tough on crime" it would work. 

Dope dealers, muggers, robbers, rapists, these folks are a joke compared to banking crime. But we punish the serfs because "we" can. 

Your local DA is a fucking joke as they are presented with banking crime and choose to do nothing. 

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 13:09 | 6894259 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

First, you'd need to make the things they do on a daily basis crimes again. They paid good money to make sure they were in the clear.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 15:09 | 6895078 commoncourtesy
commoncourtesy's picture

War is profitable for Major Corporations.

Nations are run as Corporations and Nations have huge shares/investments in Corporations and Banks who also have huge shares in Corporations and Governments. This is a full circle. They are all connected - the Super Elite. They also own most of the media.

Rothschild, Cheney & Murdoch links with Syrian Oil

http://loucollins.uk/2015/12/07/rothschild-cheney-murdoch-links-with-syr...

Rothschilds bought land and built the Palace in Israel. They have Squares named after them. Do they own/control the Corporation that is Israel? Do they own/control the 3 Corporations that make-up America? The Rothschilds and Rockefellars bought land for the UN. They own nearly all Central Banks. They control Governments, the CIA et al.

If you google The City of London, Washington DC, The Vatican and the BAR Temple together, there appear to be connections. How far do the tentacles reach?

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 15:36 | 6895231 Benjamin123
Benjamin123's picture

Why dont you execute someone yourself? I know, your life is more precious to you than the death of some active criminal.

Dutchboy once stated he would have killed Mugabe were it not for his guards. He could have crashed his plane but his precious life (and those of his crew) were more important than stopping Mugabe.

Goes to show how selfish we truly are. A million random lives are not worth our own.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 17:32 | 6895881 prymythirdeye
prymythirdeye's picture

Just like the DA's were presented with blantant foreclosure fraud and did NOTHING.  Fuck every motherfucker in public office.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 12:19 | 6893901 Joe Plane
Joe Plane's picture

Those vessels seem to be ex-Soviet built. Three of them bear human names and as far as I can judge they are names of people from one of the former USSR republics (muslim).

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 13:01 | 6894207 Aggathopos
Aggathopos's picture

Erdogan supporters still remarkably absent from this forum...

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 13:10 | 6894261 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

Well the asshole does have a habit of censorship and authoritarian control.

Can't have your contrymen out randomly talking about Bilal's hobby can we?

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 13:29 | 6894420 jughead
jughead's picture

If I could post a pic of a jockstrap, you'd have your Erdogan supporter

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 13:28 | 6894409 jughead
jughead's picture

"ISIS is an enemy of my country. ISIS is a disgrace. It puts my religion in a bad light. They don't represent Islam and I do not consider them to be Muslims.” 

 

But just like with the non-muslim US...we have no problem doing business with them. 

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 14:50 | 6894957 gregga777
gregga777's picture

Deny, deny, deny. Lie, lie, lie. The politician's standard refrain.

Seriously now, why believe anything Erdogan's regime or family members say? Turkey must allow UN inspectors into the country to do a thoroughly complete and maybe even impartial investigation. Afterwards Erdogan may resign if the Turkish Deep State doesn't "resign" him first because of the serious liability he and his family represents to Turkey's interests and worldwide image.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 14:55 | 6894991 gregga777
gregga777's picture

As I read it, international allows the Russian Federation's Navy to seize Erdogan's oil tankers because they are carrying cargo that is a material part of ISIS's war making resources. The tankers to be held in port awaiting a Russian prize court's ruling regarding disposition of tanker and cargo.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 15:02 | 6895037 dabockwai
dabockwai's picture

Simply impound and run fresh SGS reports on the cargo aboard all his tankers.  SGS analysis can determine the origin of any crude, incl blends.  But then when it becomes irrefutable when these reports are produced it opens a pandora's box of problems for the port and regime thats allowing these cargoes to get offloaded, and that cant be allowed.

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 15:57 | 6895350 astoriajoe
astoriajoe's picture

FWIW, no mention of Bilal in Washington Post. NY Times published bilal's denial. 

Tue, 12/08/2015 - 23:59 | 6897743 missionshk
missionshk's picture

Accordng to the source ... the real buyers http://www.globes.co.il/en/article.aspx?did=1001084873

Wed, 12/09/2015 - 00:36 | 6897871 onmail1
onmail1's picture

Russia cracked open the cupboard

& came tumbling down the skeletons

Putin : 'Presenting to you the great movie on Middle East, starring the erDOGan family'

 

 

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