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This article was originally written for Türkiye Today’s weekly newsletter, Saturday's Wrap-up, in its October 25 issue. Please make sure you are subscribed to the newsletter by clicking here.
An espionage probe began in Türkiye after a mysterious phone call to the emergency police line from the stepson of Turkish financier Huseyin Gun. He suspected that his stepfather was carrying out espionage activities on behalf of Britain, Israel and the U.S. The stepson, apparently a Turkish patriot, handed some digital material to the police, prompting a widening probe into Huseyin Gun.
Let’s pause here.
Alongside Middle Eastern geopolitics, Israel’s 12-day war on Iran marked a turning point for Turkish society as well. This was not only a war of armed forces but also a war of intelligence. Some Turkish people became increasingly aware of their surroundings, especially after learning how Mossad operatives were active in Tehran, which resulted in multiple deadly attacks inside the country. For Turks, Iran is seen as a stable yet impoverished country—an ancient and hard-to-break nation burdened by overarching sanctions, a noble country with a rich history and literature.
What happened in Iran resonated differently from what Israel has been doing in Arab countries. Pager attacks on Hezbollah did not ring alarm bells as much. No need to emphasize that similar thinking is prevalent in Türkiye’s security apparatus.
Let’s go back. After extensive research, Turkish intelligence discovered Gun’s communication with former British intelligence officer Christopher Paul McGrath via an encrypted phone, and they used coded language during their messages on an application called Wickr.
According to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, in one instance, Gun sent a live picture of former Turkish ministers having coffee on the terrace of the Four Seasons and said, “Just having a coffee in the same hotel with Sublime’s guys.” “Sublime” was the code word the two used to refer to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Gun’s phone was packed with foreign intelligence operatives. He was taking notes about people while recording their numbers. He noted that David John Charters is a very dear friend of former MI6 head Richard Moore.
Let’s pause again. You might be thinking, “So what?” In the digital documents belonging to Gun, authorities found photos of several Israeli passports and sensitive military material—photos that an ordinary civilian or a normal financier would have had difficulty obtaining.
Here’s where it gets political.
The work of Turkish intelligence revealed that Gun was in frequent communication with imprisoned Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s political campaign head, Necati Ozkan, who is already serving time on corruption charges.
In one instance, Gun told Ozkan to advise Imamoglu’s right-hand man for media, Murat Ongun, not to have his phone with him during one-on-one meetings with Imamoglu on sensitive issues, as Gun believed Ongun’s device was bugged.
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These are all accusations made by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office, and they appear serious. Along with the espionage activities that Gun allegedly conducted on behalf of foreign countries—especially Britain—he is accused of collaborating with Imamoglu’s team in 2019 through illicit activities.
If prosecutors are right, this could turn into a masterclass on how not to mix campaign strategy, cloud storage and covert chats. If they’re wrong, it will still make a fantastic case study for future law students—or screenwriters. Either way, Turkish politics might soon be in need of a cybersecurity upgrade.
As for those MI6 and GCHQ shout-outs—if substantiated—expect some tight smiles at the next Ankara–London reception. If they’re not, the only thing getting sanctioned will be cross-border Wi-Fi.
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