Federal prosecutors investigating whether Mayor Eric Adams conspired with the Turkish government to funnel illegal foreign donations into his campaign have recently sought information about interactions with five other countries, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The demand for information related to the other countries — Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan — was made in expansive grand jury subpoenas issued in July to City Hall, the mayor and his campaign, the people said. The prosecutors’ focus on the other five countries has not been previously reported.
The full scope of the inquiry into the mayor is not publicly known, and it remains unclear why investigators were seeking information about the additional countries or whether Mr. Adams has had dealings with them. But the investigation has focused at least in part on whether, in exchange for illegal donations, Mr. Adams pressured the Fire Department to approve a new, high-rise Turkish Consulate in Midtown Manhattan despite safety concerns. Investigators have also examined free flights and flight upgrades the mayor received from Turkish Airlines.
The New York Times first reported on the July subpoenas last month, weeks before a burst of investigative activity focused on five of the mayor’s highest-ranking aides.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTOn Sept. 4, federal agents conducted searches and seized the phones of the police commissioner, the first deputy mayor, the schools chancellor, the deputy mayor for public safety and a senior adviser who is one the mayor’s closest confidants.
Those actions brought to four the number of federal corruption inquiries swirling around Mr. Adams’s administration, and prompted the resignations of the police commissioner, Edward A. Caban, and the mayor’s chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, who left the administration after Mr. Adams resisted her advice to clean house.
Tracking Investigations in Eric Adams’s OrbitSeveral federal corruption inquiries have reached into the world of Mayor Eric Adams of New York, who faces re-election next year. Here is a closer look at how people with ties to Adams are related to the inquiries.
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