Alleged AKP member's videos with stacks of cash stir debate

Duvar English

An alleged bodyguard for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Hakan Tek, was detained on April 7, shortly after videos of him playing with stacks of cash prompted outrage among the public. 

Tek recorded himself playing around with stacks of Turkish Liras in a car that he later revealed to be a Maserati, and broadcast the images on social media platform TikTok.

Tek also shared a video of himself enjoying some Turkish arabesque music at the wheel of his Maserati, valued at more than a whopping 1.5 million liras. 

Turkish police made an official statement following Tek's detention and said that he was not employed by the Turkish presidency in any way, although images of Tek with top AKP officials had already surfaced. 

Police said that Tek had been a private chauffeur, even though Tek had previously shared a video of himself driving in a presidential convoy, and was detained on charges of "illegally claiming to be a public official."

Police said that any claims of Tek's relation to the government were part of a smear campaign against Turkish law enforcement. 

Meanwhile, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Mersin deputy Alpay Antmen asked the AKP to clarify how Tek made so much money as a private employee, and who the cash he was playing with belonged to if not him. 

Tek's detention closely follows the case of Kürşat Ayvatoğlu, an AKP staff member who got ousted after video of him snorting cocaine surfaced, and he tried to defend himself by saying the white substance he snorted was powdered sugar.