The Constitutional Court has completed an investigation into the accounts of the main opposition party, launched in the wake of illegal money transfer allegations, but although the court detected irregularities amounting to nearly YTL 1 million the party has escaped closure.

The top court announced yesterday that irregularities in Republican People's Party (CHP) accounts in 1998, 2004, 2005 and 2006 totaled YTL 930,000 and criminal complaints would be filed against those responsible for the party's records. An investigation was launched into the CHP's accounts after a scandal broke out over an illegal money transfer from the party to television station Kanaltürk.

Kanaltürk had been unable to account for the transfer of money amounting to $3.5 million from the CHP to the station, which led the Finance Ministry to send a dossier to the Constitutional Court and the office of the Supreme Court of Appeals chief prosecutor requesting an investigation into the CHP's accounts.

Just a few weeks later, the party was shaken by yet another alleged illegal money transfer scandal. Daily Yeni Şafak reported earlier this week that the CHP had transferred money to Halk TV, known for its pro-CHP broadcasts.

According to Yeni Şafak, the CHP transferred sums of $700,000 and YTL 500,000 to Halk TV in the last three-and-a-half years to pay the station's bills for a satellite system and Digitürk, one of the two main cable TV providers in Turkey. The party also paid for devices and equipment used by the station.

According to Article 69 of the Constitution and Article 67 of the Law on Political Parties, political parties cannot engage in commercial activities.

Irregular expenses of around YTL 35,000 were detected in the CHP's accounts for 1998, YTL 268,000 for 2004, YTL 162,000 for 2005 and YTL 466,000 for 2006 during the investigation. The Constitutional Court ruled that the CHP must pay the whole of these sums, nearly YTL 1 million, to the Turkish Treasury, but did not specify a date. The court also ruled that YTL 35,000 of property belonging to the CHP would be confiscated and handed over to the Treasury. Criminal complaints will be filed at the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office against party officials responsible for the account fraud.

When the CHP's illegal money transfer to Kanaltürk was first revealed, analysts and legal experts said the deal between the party and the TV station contravened the Constitution and the Political Parties Law and that the CHP might therefore face legal action that could end in the party's closure. However Constitutional Court President Haşim Kılıç stated yesterday that the irregularities would not lead to the party's closure.


"Our Constitution is very clear on reasons that may result in the disbandment of political parties, and so are the laws. There is nothing in the CHP affair that may lead to this party's closure," he stated.

The CHP's parliamentary group deputy chairman, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, stressed that everyone should comply with the top court's decision. "If the Constitutional Court has made a decision, we have to respect it. We will comply with the decision and do what the laws instruct. We are a political party that respects court decisions. If criminal complaints are filed against our party officials, they will appear before the prosecutor and defend themselves. The accounts of all political parties in our country are investigated by the top court. We will do what is necessary to make up for our deficiencies. I don't know the entire content of the Constitutional Court's decision at the moment, but I would like to underline that we, as the CHP, always respect court decisions. The top court inspected our accounts in accordance with laws, and we will do what falls upon us," he remarked.

Mustafa Özyürek, general auditor of the CHP, on the other hand, argued the top court's decision revealed that the allegations related to the CHP's money transfer to Kanaltürk were "groundless."He stated, "The Constitutional Court directed no criticism at our party as to Kanaltürk allegations, which proved that [those] accusations against our party were groundless."

However, the top court's decisions drew fire from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Nihat Ergün, the deputy chairman of the AK Party's parliamentary group, said the Constitutional Court's decision proved clear corruption within the CHP, but implied the court decision was dissatisfactory.

"It is thought-provoking that the main opposition party committed such a crime. They hastily made up invoices for party expenses and submitted them to the court. This will not be accepted by the public. We should consider it well what such a party [which engages in intra-party fraudulence] would do to the country. We know how the Welfare Party's (RP) 'missing trillion' case was concluded in the past," he said.

In 1998, the Constitutional Court outlawed the RP and banned its leader, Necmettin Erbakan, from politics for five years, on the grounds that about 1 trillion Turkish lira (then worth about $3.6 million) the party had collected for Muslim victims of the Bosnian War was missing. The party argued that it had transferred the money to its provincial branches, but the court said the party had forged 139 documents to misuse the funds and that the money never reached provincial offices.

Law expert Professor Mustafa Kamalak, a former member of Parliament, said the RP did not receive a fair trial, given the Constitutional Court's decision on the irregularities in the CHP accounts. "The RP trial should begin from scratch. The documents deemed fraudulent by the top court bore signatures of the party's then-budget accountant, yet the Constitutional Court ruled that a party official cannot approve expenditures without the knowledge of the party leader, and convicted Erbakan. Though a similar case exists for the CHP, the court made a different ruling," he said.

Former Supreme Court of Appeals prosecutor Ahmet Gündel, on the other hand, stressed the CHP's illegal money transfer case was not yet closed. "There is a problem here. The deal between the CHP and Kanaltürk violates [the mandate of] the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), which regulates the broadcasts of political party campaigns during election periods. The Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office should take this fact into consideration while evaluating the criminal complaints to be filed against party officials," he said.

In accordance with its deal with the CHP, Kanaltürk agreed to host pro-CHP experts and analysts in its news programming and other coverage, ranging from music to sports. The channel also promised to allocate no less than seven hours every week in news programs to CHP officials and agreed to give broad coverage to campaign tours by party leaders across the nation. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) parliamentary group's chairman, Oktay Vural, noted political parties should be extra cautious regarding their expenses. "Parties should dispel doubts as to whether they use public resources in an efficient manner. If the top court detected irregularity in the CHP's accounts, this issue should be investigated in every aspect," he remarked.

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