Turkey's New Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalın Secretly Worked with Former Al-Qaeda Financier: Nordic Monitor

Turkey's newly appointed intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın has secretly collaborated with a former financier of Al-Qaeda, according to Nordic Monitor.

Kalın reportedly had clandestine meetings with Yasin al-Qadi, a close associate of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is listed as an Al-Qaeda financier by both the UN Security Council sanctions committee and the U.S. Treasury Department.

Secret documents obtained by Nordic Monitor reveal that they not only held several covert meetings in Turkey but were also identified as suspects in the same criminal investigation conducted under the oversight of the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office in 2012-2013. In the case materials, which included recordings from surveillance cameras, wiretaps, banking transactions, and notes on bribes and extortion, al-Qadi was the primary suspect, while Kalın was noted as the 47th.

The case documents clearly indicate that Kalın had close ties with an Egyptian national named Osama Qutb, a trusted associate of Al-Qaeda in Turkey and also a suspect in the same criminal case. For instance, a wiretap dated June 19, 2013, captured Qutb calling Kalın to arrange a trilateral meeting for himself and his leader Al-Qadi. This meeting seemingly prepared for Al-Qadi's discussion with then-Prime Minister Erdoğan and other senior officials.

All these meetings were organized in secrecy, and Erdoğan's associates made significant efforts to conceal al-Qadi's activities in Istanbul and Ankara from the public eye. Al-Qadi has been recognized as an Al-Qaeda financier by the U.S. Treasury Department, and the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee has included him on its list of terrorists in accordance with Security Council resolutions. The Turkish government has also issued an official circular labeling him a terrorist, prohibiting his entry to Turkey and any financial transactions involving him.

Despite this, he managed to carry out secret travels to Turkey, including on Erdoğan's official plane in 2011 while under sanctions, followed by more trips and meetings under Erdoğan’s patronage, including interactions with then-Deputy National Intelligence Agency Chief Hakan Fidan and others.