Levent Kenez/Stockholm
A Turkish deputy foreign minister who established a company in Cyprus with a notorious mob boss involved in drug trafficking, illegal gambling and money laundering has been appointed as Turkey’s ambassador to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC).
The self-declared KKTC is recognized only by Turkey.
Yasin Ekrem Serim, a 38-year-old who had no prior diplomatic experience, was previously appointed as deputy foreign minister by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 16, 2022. His appointment followed various advisory roles in the government, largely due to his father, Maksut Serim, a chief advisor to Erdogan. Maksut Serim, known as Erdogan’s “secret keeper,” has overseen a confidential discretionary fund used for Erdogan’s personal purposes for years. This fund, included in the general budget, finances covert operations both within Turkey and internationally, with no auditing or accounting for its use. Expenditure records are destroyed after being reviewed by a three-person committee led by Maksut Serim. In addition to his role as an advisor to Erdogan, he has served as a board member at the state-owned Halkbank since 2017.
Last year Yasin Ekrem Serim made headlines for his involvement in a company established with a notorious mob boss. Northern Associates Trading Limited was founded in the KKTC on December 22, 2020. The company’s partners included Yasin Ekrem Serim, his brother Halil İbrahim Serim and infamous mob leader Halil Falyalı. With paid-in capital of TL 11,250,000, the Serim brothers have a 10 percent stake in the company, which operates in real estate, construction and machinery import and export as well as running restaurants, bars, nightclubs and discotheques.
When the company was established, there was an outstanding arrest warrant in Turkey for Falyalı, a well-known crime boss who was killed on February 8, 2022 in an attack in Kyrenia (Girne) following revelations by Sedat Peker, another mafia leader and former Erdogan ally, which implicated Erdogan’s inner circle in corruption.
In response to allegations linking Yasin Serim to organized crime through a company he co-founded with a notorious mob leader, Serim’s lawyer issued a statement denying the claims. The lawyer said, “Serim has not established any company or engaged in joint commercial activities with the mentioned individual. The claims that Serim’s past business dealings with Northern Associates Trading Limited are being misrepresented to suggest illegal activities are false. Although there are allegations suggesting Serim’s involvement in these actions, the situation actually pertains to the transfer of company shares related to a simple real estate transaction.”
Serim only responded by having his lawyer issue a statement when opposition party members usually raised the issue during the parliamentary committee meetings he attended. Additionally, he obtained a court order to impose a publication ban on the related news coverage.
Nordic Monitor previously reported on the Serim family’s extensive business operations in northern Cyprus, managed by Yasin Ekrem Serim’s younger brother Halil İbrahim Serim. A major Turkish construction firm involved in corruption on the island avoided prosecution due to the influence of Maksut Serim. Additionally, Yasin Ekrem Serim owned four companies in the United Kingdom with his brother, but Turkish law prohibits civil servants from holding stakes in private companies, leading to the divestment of his shares by 2020.
Maksut Serim claimed in a 2013 wiretapped conversation that the Treaty of Lausanne, which defined the modern borders between Turkey and Greece, had “expired” and also suggested that the expiration of the treaty allowed Turkey to seize resources, including those in northern Iraq. This conversation, recorded on June 5, 2013, was part of a broader investigation into Serim and other officials over allegations of fraud and corruption. The treaty, signed in 1923, was a pivotal agreement in defining Turkey and Greece’s borders. Serim himself founded the Ottoman Sons Education, Culture and Charity Foundation in 2016, promoting a neo-Ottoman agenda.
In 2011 Yasin Serim became an object of hatred on social media. Then-prime minister Erdogan, who attended the opening of the new stadium of Turkey’s popular Galatasaray football club, was protested by Galatasaray fans. In a tweet full of poor Turkish and grammatical errors, Serim insulted Galatasaray fans and accused them of ingratitude. Serim had to suspend his Twitter account in the aftermath.
The KKTC, known as a hub for mafia groups with ties to Turkey, is frequently cited in connection with gambling, betting and money laundering allegations. The island is also recognized for hosting state-supported paramilitary group training operations.
In recent years President Erdogan and his close associates have been active in Cyprus, particularly in real estate investments, among other areas. Opponents suggest that Yasin Ekrem Serim’s appointment as ambassador to the KKTC is intended to closely monitor these shady business dealings and report back to Erdogan.
Yasin Serim graduated from the Public Administration and Political Science Department at Girne American University and later completed a master’s degree in international business management at the University of Westminster in London. While studying in Cyprus, his family’s company was involved in the construction of university buildings.
Yasin is married to Çağla Seymenoğlu, the daughter of former ruling party deputy Safiye Seymenoğlu. The couple got married in 2014 in a showy ceremony whose guest of honor was Erdogan.
