Alaettin Çakıcı (born 20 January 1953) is one of the leading figures of the

Turkish mafia Turkish mafia () is the general term for criminal organizations based in Turkey and/or composed of current or former Turkish citizens. Crime groups with origins in Turkey are active throughout Western Europe (where a strong Turkish immigrant comm ...

, a convicted felon and a former member of the

ultra-nationalist Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific i ...

Grey Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though grey ...

in Turkey. Initially employed by the Turkish

National Intelligence Organization loction 39°54'25.0"N 32°39'59.3"E The National Intelligence Organization (), also known by its Turkish language, Turkish initials MIT or MİT, or colloquially as the Organization (), is an intelligence agency of the Turkish government tasked ...

for covert operations outside Turkey in the 1980s, contracting assassinations, he went underground from 1992-1998, was arrested and imprisoned for 2 years, arrested again and imprisoned for 16 years. Çakıcı is the arch rival of mafia boss

Sedat Peker Reis Sedat Peker (; born 26 June 1971) is a Turkish mafia boss and whistle-blower who has made various allegations about Turkish politicians and numerous government engagements in illegal activities through his own YouTube channel. He has describe ...

. After Çakıcı’s release in 2020, Peker left the country and exposed Çakıcı's connections to former members of the Erdogan cabinet, like

Mehmet Ağar Mehmet Kemal Ağar (born on 30 October 1951) is a Turkish former police chief, politician, government minister and leader of the Democratic Party. He was a police officer who rose to General Director of the General Directorate of Security (effec ...

Early life and education

Alaettin Çakıcı was born in

Arsin, Trabzon Arsin is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Trabzon Province, Turkey. Its area is 157 km2, and its population is 30,911 (2022). It is on the Black Sea coast, east of the city of Trabzon. The mayor is Hamza Bilgin, a member of ...

, Turkey in 1953.

Career

Mehmet Eymür Mehmet Eymür (5 September 1943 – 13 January 2024) was a Turkish intelligence official. In 1995–1996 he led the counter-terrorism department of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), which he joined as a student in 1965 as a "pursuit of ...

, a leading official of the Turkish

(MİT), disclosed that he was the first person to employ Alaettin Çakıcı of the MİT.

Yavuz Ataç Yavuz Ataç is a former Turkish intelligence official in the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), best known for his relationship with Alaattin Çakıcı. A former head of MIT Foreign Operations, he was "sent into exile" in Beijing on 24 Octo ...

, an operations official, confirmed that he was introduced to Alaettin Çakıcı. Two months later he joined the MİT in May 1987 as the manager of the security department. Ataç said "Çakıcı has been a fugitive, sought for six or seven crimes at the time he first met him". According to Ataç, Çakıcı was assigned to operations outside of Turkey. As determined by the security forces, Çakıcı was in 1995 on the assassination list of

Dev Sol The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front ( or DHKP-C) is a Turkish Marxist–Leninist communist party in Turkey. It was founded in 1978 as Revolutionary Left (Turkish: or ), and has been involved in a militant campaign against the Rep ...

, a Marxist–Leninist organization.

Political ties and scandals

Çakıcı contracted the assassination of

Cavit Çağlar Cavit Çağlar (born 1944, Komotini, Greece) is a Turkish businessman and politician and convicted felon. In 2004 he was sentenced to three years ten months for bank fraud, a $7.4m business bank loan for personal use, leading to the bankruptcy o ...

, a wealthy businessman from

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

and a high-level politician and government minister, and Mehmet Üstünkaya, former president of

Beşiktaş JK Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

, in relation with the incidents known as the " Türkbank scandal", in connection with the privatization of Türk Ticaret Bankası to

Korkmaz Yiğit Korkmaz Yiğit (born 1943 in Erzincan) is a Turkish businessman. He made his fortune in construction, and expanded into finance and media, but fell rapidly from grace in 1998 when apparent connections with mob figure Alaattin Çakıcı were revea ...

. The plot was uncovered by the police at the preparation stage. He has close ties to

Devlet Bahçeli Devlet Bahçeli (born 1 January 1948) is a Turkish people, Turkish politician, economist, former Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, deputy prime minister, and current chairman of the Far-right politics, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultranationa ...

, the president of the far-right political party MHP who visited him in prison and who in 2018 demanded a general amnesty for certain prisoners, naming Çakıcı personally. The demand was denied by the government, though.

Abroad (1992–1998)

Çakıcı fled abroad in 1992 with the help of a

false passport A fake passport is a counterfeit of a passport (or other travel document) issued by a nation or authorised agency. Such counterfeits are copies of genuine passports, or illicitly modified genuine passports made by unauthorized persons, sometimes ...

. It was determined that he toured in Belgium, United States, Italy, South Africa, France, Brazil, Singapore and Japan. He is held responsible for the murder of 41 people.

Arrest in France (1998)

Informed by the Turkish police, French police apprehended him on 17 August 1998 in a hotel in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionMuradi Güler and his courier Aslı Fatoş Ural, daughter of composer Selçuk Ural. He had been carrying a fake

diplomatic passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's Identity (social science), identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign ...

(red passport) on the name of "Nedim Caner" and US$17,000 cash with him. His capture revealed his connections not only to the intelligence service, but also to high-level politicians and the

deep state in Turkey In Turkey, a political conspiracy theory posits the existence of a deep state (), a group of influential anti-democratic coalitions inside the Turkish political structure, composed of high-level elements within the intelligence services (domest ...

. Recording tapes published after his capture in 1998 in France led to the resignation of the government minister from the Motherland Party (ANAP)

Eyüp Aşık Eyüp Aşık (born 1953, Çaykara) is a former Turkish politician. He represented Trabzon in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for the Motherland Party (ANAP) from 1983 to 2001. In the mid-1990s he was a minister of state responsible for Te ...

, who was accused of warning Çakıcı to flee.

Meral Akşener Meral Akşener (née Gürer, ; born 18 July 1956) is a Turkish politician, teacher, historian and academic who is the founder of the Good Party (İYİ Party). Akşener first entered parliament as a deputy of the True Path Party (DYP) in the 19 ...

, minister of interior from the

True Path Party The True Path Party (, DYP) was a centre-right political party in Turkey, active from 1983 to 2007. For most of its history, the party's central figure was Süleyman Demirel, a former Prime Minister of Turkey who previously led the Justice Part ...

(DYP), MİT agent

and businessman

Erol Evcil Erol Evcil (born 2 May 1966, Mudanya, Bursa Province), is a Turkish businessman convicted of money-laundering and ordering a murder. Coming from an olive-growing background, he became known as the "olive king", and founded Zeytinoglu Holding in the ...

were also accused of the same allegation. After 16 months of isolated incarceration in France, he was returned to Turkey of his own will on 14 December 1999. He was imprisoned in

Kartal Kartal () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 38 km2, and its population is 483,418 (2022). It is located on the Asian side of the city, on the coast of the Marmara Sea between Maltepe and Pendik. De ...

Prison in Istanbul. Following controversies with rival gang member inmates, he was transferred to the maximum-security

Kandıra Kandıra is a municipality and district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Its area is 840 km2, and its population is 52,874 (2022). Its neighbours are Kaynarca to the east, Adapazarı to the southeast, İzmit to the south and Şile to the west. ...

prison in Kocaeli. In June 2000 he was sentenced to five years for running a criminal gang.

Abroad (2003–2004)

Çakıcı was released from prison on 1 December 2002. Although not allowed to leave Turkey and his passport confiscated, he fled from

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

to Greece by sea as told by a group of people, including his nephew and

, who were apprehended by the police in

Foça Foça is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 251 km2, and its population is 34,946 (2022). The town of Foça is situated at about northwest of İzmir's city center on the Aegean Sea, Aege ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

. Çakıcı had obtained a passport with false identity and photograph from the police in

Ümraniye Ümraniye () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 46 km2, and its population is 723,760 (2023). It was separated from Üsküdar in 1987. It is bordered by Çekmeköy t ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Arrest in Austria (2004)

Çakıcı stayed four-and-a-half months in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

in France as observed by the Turkish police. In order to visit Ali Çakıcı, son from his first marriage, in a hospital in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, he drove to Austria changing his car three times on the way. His intention was to pass later to Italy to join his girlfriend Aslı Fatoş Ural. On 14 July 2004 Austrian police, informed by the Turkish police, apprehended Çakıcı out of

. He had been carrying a Turkish special passport (green passport) issued on the name Faik Meral, a retired MİT agent, and its expiration extended from the police in İzmir. He had EUR 4,000 in cash with him. Visas in his passport showed that he traveled first to Russia and then entered Germany, where he stayed a while before going to France. On 14 October 2004, Çakıcı was deported from Austria at the request of the Turkish Ministry of Justice. He was brought from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

to Istanbul in a commercial airliner escorted by five policemen. After trial, he was imprisoned in the maximum-security prison in

Tekirdağ Tekirdağ () is a city in northwestern Turkey. It is located on the north coast of the Sea of Marmara, in the region of East Thrace. The city forms the urban part of the Süleymanpaşa district, with a population of 186,421 in 2022. Tekirdağ ...

Trials (2004–2020)

After his return to Turkey, Çakıcı was put on trial, and found guilty of the following crimes: * Three years and four months' imprisonment for his contract to shoot the renowned journalist

Hıncal Uluç Hıncal Uluç (1 November 1939 – 20 November 2022) was a Turkish journalist and writer. In 1980, he moved to Istanbul after signing a contract with Gelişim Publishing's owner Ercan Arıklı for publishing a magazine. Later, in 1990 following ...

, as he had written a newspaper column about him and his wife Uğur Kılıç he was about to divorce. * Three years and four months' imprisonment for

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

in relation with the gunned assault on 26 March 2000 to the club local of

Fatih Karagümrük S.K. Fatih Karagümrük Spor Kulübü, also called Karagümrük, is a Turkish professional Association football, football club based in the Karagümrük neighbourhood of the Fatih district in Istanbul. They currently play in the Süper Lig, the first ...

in Istanbul. * Nineteen years and two months' imprisonment for his contract to murder his ex-wife. * Ten years and ten months' imprisonment for the gunned assault at the speculator Adil Öngen's car.

Release, 2020

On 15 April 2020, he was released after the Turkish parliament approved a law to contain the spread of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in the prisons. After Çakıcı's release, Peker left the country and exposed Çakıcı's connections to former members of the Erdogan cabinet, like

Personal life

In 1991, Çakıcı made his second marriage with Nuriye Uğur Kılıç, the daughter of

Dündar Kılıç Dündar Kılıç (real name Dündar Alikılıç; 1935 – 10 August 1999) was an infamous boss in the Turkish underworld. He earned himself the nickname of being the ' godfather of godfathers'. Early life and rise in underworld Dündar Kıl� ...

, a mob boss of the Turkish underworld sports nicknamed the " godfather of godfathers" (). However, he and his father-in-law fell out following the chain of incidents known as the "Civangate". In November 1994, the couple divorced. He contracted the killing of his ex-wife Uğur Kılıç and his ex-henchman

Nurullah Tevfik Ağansoy Nurullah Tevfik Ağansoy (1960, Topcular, Istanbul – August 28, 1996, Bebek, Istanbul) was a Turkish mob boss and former Grey Wolves member who was involved in the Susurluk scandal. After the 1980 Turkish coup, he was arrested and sentenced ...

. On 20 January 1995, she was shot dead with seven bullets fired by the

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

Abdurrahman Keskin in front of her son Onur in

Uludağ Uludağ (), the ancient Mysian or Bithynian Olympus ( Greek: Όλυμπος), is a mountain in Bursa Province, Turkey, with an elevation of . In Turkish, ''Uludağ'' means "great mountain". In ancient times the range of which it is a part, e ...

, a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

. It was on Çakıcı's birthday.

References

External links

Turkish Daily News Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

, 27 September 1998
Cakici's Cabinet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cakici, Alaettin 1953 births Living people People from Trabzon People deported from Austria Grey Wolves (organization) members Turkish crime bosses Turkish people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Turkey People extradited to Turkey