New York Mayor Charged with Bribery, Wire Fraud

A 57-page federal indictment unsealed Thursday morning in Manhattan charges New York City Mayor Eric Adams with bribery, wire fraud and campaign finance violations, and creating a "false paper trail" to hide his purported misconduct.

In 2021 and 2022, Adams allegedly accepted "free travel and other travel-related bribes" from a Turkish official in exchange for pressuring the New York City Fire Department to "facilitate the opening" of the Turkish House, a 36-story skyscraper that now serves as the headquarters of Turkish diplomacy in New York, by not subjecting the structure to a mandatory inspection.

"The FDNY official responsible for the ... assessment of the skyscraper's fire safety was told that he would lose his job if he failed to acquiesce, and, after Adams intervened, the skyscraper opened as requested," federal prosecutors alleged in the indictment. "At the time, the building would have failed an FDNY inspection."

Prior to his alleged interference on behalf of the Turkish House, Adams by 2018 had "not only accepted, but sought" political contributions from Turkish businessmen and other foreign nationals, who, according to the indictment, illegally funneled funds to his mayoral campaign through straw donors in the U.S.

Adams and his staffers similarly directed a local businessman in the construction industry to circumvent the $2,000 limit on political contributions by funneling additional donations to his campaign through his employees, federal prosecutors alleged Thursday.

Banks and other financial institutions in the U.S. must subject foreign officials and politicos to enhanced due diligence pursuant to federal anti-money laundering regulations, but are under no obligation to apply the same policy to domestic politicians despite the Financial Action Task Force's recommendations otherwise.

The indictment does not name any financial institution or institutions used in the alleged schemes.

• Topics: Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism, Fraud
• Source: U.S.: Department of Justice
• Document Date: September 26, 2024