Recep Tayyip Erdogan & Turkey: Trafficking Allegations, Emails & Ankara Investigation
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears in Epstein's personal correspondence. In a September 2011 email to his alleged girlfriend Shelley Lewis, Epstein wrote that he "might go to see Erdogan, and then on to Bodrum to go to a spa." Separately, a 2010 email from American billionaire Tom Pritzker reveals efforts to arrange a meeting between Epstein and Turkey's then-Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, shortly after Epstein's release from his 2008 prison sentence. Davutoglu's Future Party has denied the meeting took place, stating it was a brief encounter between Pritzker and Davutoglu that was unrelated to Epstein.
Perhaps more significantly, documents from Epstein's 2008 civil case contain allegations that he "transported minor girls from Turkey, the Czech Republic, Asia, and numerous other countries, many of whom spoke no English." Additional emails from 2017 show Epstein and UAE businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem arranging for Epstein's "personal masseuse" to work at the Rixos hotel spa in Antalya, Turkey.
The allegations prompted the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to open a formal investigation, examining approximately three million released documents for evidence of trafficking with Turkish connections. Opposition IYI Party spokesperson Bugra Kavuncu called for the urgent establishment of a parliamentary commission to determine whether any Turkish children were victims, emphasizing that "these types of issues are a matter of humanity above all political calculations." MP Dogan Bekin from the Yeniden Refah Party cited Turkish Statistical Institute data showing 104,531 children officially reported missing between 2008 and 2016, predominantly young girls, and submitted questions to the interior and family ministries asking whether any of these children may have been victimized.
Important Disclaimer: Being referenced in these documents does not imply guilt or criminal conduct. Many documents contain unverified claims, secondhand allegations, and tip line submissions. All individuals discussed above have denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the DOJ has stated the files "may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos." These references are from publicly available records released by the U.S. Department of Justice.